


At First Sight

by yaniehime



Series: At First Sight [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Action, Action & Romance, Actor Bucky Barnes, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, BAMF Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes as the actor for Captain America, M/M, My First Work in This Fandom, Other, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Series, Soldier Steve Rogers, Stucky in the elevator, There will be violence, Unbeta'd, Xianxia, alternating pov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-12
Updated: 2016-12-12
Packaged: 2018-08-30 12:44:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 23,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8533561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yaniehime/pseuds/yaniehime
Summary: Set in a world where war and adversity are humanity’s greatest grinding stones to power.A world where the powerful rule absolute.Power begets fame. Power begets wealth. Power begets the world.Steve Rogers is a soldier, joining the fight in an endless war.Bucky Barnes is an actor, discovering the Underworld just beneath the surface of his own.They find each other.And, at first sight, they are changed forever.





	1. First Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> Bucky meets a handsome stranger in a hotel elevator.
> 
> +++++
> 
> Rebirth is a prologue for At First Sight. You can just go straight to reading this, but I advise you to read Rebirth first just so you get an understanding of the world that I am building for the At First Sight universe.

_2016_

 

Bucky Barnes was tired. All he wanted to do now was to fall face down on a bed and sleep for seventy-two hours straight.

 

He had been working thirteen to fifteen hour days this week while shooting his latest Captain America movie. There was still two more weeks before they move on to another location to shoot some more scenes for the movie.

 

He was thankful for being a part of a large movie franchise, let alone play the lead role in his own big-budget movies. But long shooting days always managed to kick him in the ass. He could not wait for the weekend to come so that he can just sit back on a couch, drink some beer, eat some good food, and watch something on Netflix.

 

His manager just drove off after dropping him off at the basement of the hotel that he was currently staying in along with his other co-stars. The production crew were also staying at the same hotel but were on different floors.

 

Bucky was now all alone as he rode the elevator from the basement level to his hotel upstairs. He was tired, and he hoped that no one else would ride the elevator with him on his way to his room. He did not want to deal with eager fans or nosy strangers. Ever since he became Captain America, more and more people recognized him in the streets. It had become more and more difficult to maintain anonymity when he was in the Marvel movies. It took all of his strength just to remain upright and traverse the path to his hotel room.

 

But his wish was not heard by the powers that be. The elevator stopped at the ground floor and a man, who was a few inches taller than him, stepped in. The man pressed a button at the side of the elevator door.

 

Bucky could not help but stare at the man while the elevator door slid close and the car started moving upwards.

 

The man had a blond head of hair that almost seemed like a golden halo under the elevator’s overhead lights. He was wearing a buttoned up navy blue pea coat that stretched along his very broad shoulders. He was wearing a black shirt underneath the coat, black leather gloves in both of his hands, black pants, and black leather boots.

 

Even with the man’s clothes, Bucky could see that he was built like a very fine brick house. Looking at the man’s profile, he saw that the man had a strong jaw. He had thick lashes that casted shadows over his perfect cheekbones. His nose was perfect and his lips… The blond’s lips were luscious and pink that Bucky licked his own lips involuntarily.

 

Bucky suppressed a moan from escaping from his lips. He was surprised that he was so turned on by a man just by looking at him. He admitted that it had been a long time since he got laid. He batted for both teams, so it was supposed to be easy finding someone. But filming a movie occupied his time, and one-night stands and hook-ups were not his thing. But this blond god that just appeared right in front of him made him rethink his thoughts about getting off with strangers.

 

He felt his heart skip a beat when the blond man glanced at him. His neutral expression quickly changed to a friendly smile. Bucky saw that the blond god’s eyes were as blue as the clear summer sky. But the man looked away almost immediately without waiting for Bucky to smile back, facing the elevator door.

 

Bucky wished he had his phone in his hand and not inside his pocket so that he can try and stealthily steal a photo of the hot blond. But alas, the Fates were against him right now as he realized that the blond’s floor was two floors below his, and the blond was now about to get off of the elevator.

 

Fuck! He didn’t even get the chance to make small talk or maybe get the hot guy’s number.

 

 _Get it together, Barnes. You have more game than this!_ He scolded himself.

 

Bucky was never a shy person in social settings, but now he found himself unable to do much but stare dumbly at the hot man who was stepping out of the elevator. But he did not fail to notice that the blond gave him a quick glance before crossing the doors.

 

The blond god stopped just outside of the elevator door with his back to Bucky. He raised his right gloved hand and reached behind his back. He grabbed something from inside the back of his upraised coat collar and pulled upwards.

 

Bucky’s eyes went wide when he saw the glint of a stiletto sword—with a short hand guard and almost as long as Bucky’s own arm—emerge from the back collar of the blonde god’s coat. He was surprised that he did not even notice that such a thing was hiding behind the blond god’s coat. The coat seemed to have molded to the man’s body, giving Bucky the illusion that the blond god pulled the sword out of his own spine.

 

When the stiletto sword was unsheathed from the blond god’s back, he looked at Bucky from over his shoulder and raised the index finger of his left hand to his lips, moving his mouth to soundlessly shush him to silence.

 

Bucky could only gape as he felt all of his blood rush south. The blond god’s pink, plump lips moved in a slow pout and fed every single one of Bucky’s dirty fantasies. That was all he could do when the elevator doors closed and the car ascended once more.

 

When he realized what had just happened, the elevator door was already opening to his own floor. He moved on auto-pilot as he stepped out of the elevator and went to his room.

 

His mind was still on the blond, the elevator ride, and the sword-pulling thing that he did after he stepped out of the elevator.

 

In the very short time that he had spent with the blond, he never felt any danger or threat coming from the guy. He seemed very normal albeit incredibly hot and fit.

 

So what was the deal with the sword?

 

What was a sword-wielding hot guy like him doing in Cleveland? Why was he carrying a hidden weapon to a hotel? Was he a cosplayer? Was there a convention somewhere that he did not know of?

 

But Bucky was very tired. He had a particularly stressful day after filming in a freeway under the hot Cleveland sun. All of his remaining energy was immediately depleted just by thinking of the hot guy, so he dozed off immediately after his back hit the bed.

 

++++++++++

 

Steve soundlessly walked the hallway of the hotel’s twelfth floor. He had his favorite stiletto sword in his right hand, looking natural as if it was an extension of his right arm.

 

He wondered why he had to do something as unnecessary as showing off to a random stranger. Although he must admit that the stranger was hot, it was still not an excuse to risk alerting his enemies by prematurely exposing himself.

 

They were only given the signals of the beacons through their phones. They were not given the pictures or profiles of their enemies in the competition. Although they were not allowed to leave the Cleveland area, it was still sixty miles of ground to cover to find the beacons and deactivate them.

 

Steve just shrugged at no one in particular after thinking about the man from the elevator. He recognized the handsome man as the lead actor to Her Majesty’s latest favorite movie. And based on the intel that he had gathered on the competition’s arena, the handsome man was filming another movie for the franchise in the same city.

 

It was only a coincidence that Captain America was being filmed in the same arena as the competition. Maybe some of the organizers got a kick out of it. Maybe some of them had prior intel and were fans that was why the arena was in Cleveland.

 

Steve did not mind any of those things. He watched movies from time to time. He had watched the Captain America movie because his liege had recommended it to him. He admitted that it was a good movie. But he had more important things to focus on, so he was not as invested as Her Majesty.

 

Although, the actor of the Captain America movie was very handsome. Steve wouldn’t mind being trapped in an elevator with him. He smiled a bit at that errant thought.

 

He stopped walking in front of a certain hotel room’s door. He fished out a master keycard and used it to open the door. Soundlessly, he closed the door and stalked inside the room, listening for any sounds.

 

The hotel room was neat, the only evidence of occupancy was the neatly folded clothes on top of the bed and a pair of leather boots at the foot of the bed. The hotel guest was nowhere in sight.

 

He swung his sword arm when he heard the sound of the shower running. The bathroom door was slightly open, most likely a tactical move to know if someone else entered the room.

 

But Steve was nothing but soundless and swift movements. His large frame always managed to lull others into thinking that he was slow due to his size. Steve was a silent predator. And he was trained by the best to catch his prey as quickly and as silently as possible.

 

Steve took a quick peek inside the bathroom from where he was standing and saw the silhouette of a man showering from behind the frosted glass. The glass door of the shower was open, and he can see some parts of the man’s body.

 

He calmly stood against the wall just beside the hinges of the open bathroom door. It would ensure that the man would not see him after exiting the bathroom. He preferred lying in wait outside than deal with getting wet in the bath.

 

He only needed to deactivate the beacon that was around his enemy’s neck. After that was done, he could probably take a break to have another quick look at Captain America.

 

Her Majesty would probably be happy if he told her that he had met her current favorite actor. He cocked his head to the side as he continued to listen to the sound of the shower running.

 

Maybe Steve could ask Captain America for an autograph as a souvenir for Her Majesty. He could give it to her as a victory gift.

 

Everyone in the Queen’s Legion was already expecting a win for this cycle. They all seemed confident of his abilities. He was not one to brag, but he was also confident in himself, too. He would never fail his Queen.

 

So maybe even if Her Majesty already knew he would succeed, it wouldn’t be so bad if he brought home more than a victory for her.

 

He heard the sound of the shower knob turning. The water stopped running. There were sounds of movement inside the bathroom. Steve held his breath and waited. He stood still, as if blending into the wallpaper on the wall.

 

His enemy walked out of the bathroom door and headed towards the clothes on the bed. He tracked the other person with his eyes. Silently and swiftly, he raised the blade of his stiletto sword and pointed it at the back of his enemy’s neck, touching the beacon that was wrapped around it.

 

“Deactivate your beacon, or die,” Steve said in a cold voice. He was a predator who had finally sprung on his prey.

 

The other man released his hands that were holding a towel around his waist. He slowly raised his hands and the towel fell to the floor. At the same time, the man dropped to a squat on the floor, not caring about his nakedness. His enemy extended a leg towards Steve for a low kick to his legs.

 

Steve reacted in time and stepped away to avoid the kick. His face was expressionless but he narrowed his eyes. He wanted to chuckle or sigh but didn’t. He fought the other man, swinging his sword at him, but was swiftly disappointed at how easily the man fell to his knees in surrender after just giving him a few nicks from his favorite sword.

 

He watched as his enemy deactivated the beacon around his neck and handed it over to Steve. The man grabbed the sheet from the bed and covered the deep and long gash that went from the his right shoulder down to his left hip. Blood trailed after him on the floor. He took his phone from the bed and ran to hide in the bathroom lest Steve changed his mind about not killing him.

 

But Steve made no move to go after the man because he already got what he wanted.

 

His face broke into a pleasant smile as he pocketed the beacon, flicked the blood off of his sword with one strong swing, and sheathed his sword in the hidden scabbard on his back. He did all of these in swift motions, leaving the hotel room without looking back.

 

Steve wondered why eliminating targets in the competition were this easy. It was like they were not even trying at all.

 

 _Remember not to overdo it, Steve. You are not here to show off. You are here to defend your Queen’s domain._ He reminded himself. But his inner voice suspiciously sounded like his friend Peggy, who was the head of the Legion’s Intelligence Division.

 

In the Queen’s Legion, there was another thing that Steve was famous for aside from his stubbornness and being one of the fastest-rising Elites in the Legion. Steve loved to fight. He would normally prefer to do things without having to resort to violence. Many thought he was an all-around nice guy most of the time. But if Steve was thrust into a fight, especially a fight that the other party started, he would not run from it. Instead, he would rush headlong into it and fight ruthlessly and viciously with everything that he got.

 

Steve’s handsome looks and big body gave others the false sense of security that he was a giant teddy bear. But when provoked, Steve was relentless. Living as a scrawny, sickly kid who always got into fights with bullies in Brooklyn made him use everything to his advantage. He fought dirty.

 

And Steve loved seeing blood, whether it was his blood or the blood of his enemies. It was a quality he had found that had always been sleeping deep inside of him. His Queen called him a Berserker. If he let go of his self-control, he would unleash a beast that fed on blood, but it was not without its dangers. He was only allowed to lose control one time to see how much death and destruction he could cause before he could nearly kill himself. Only his Queen could stop him in his unleashed Berserker state. And that was why she had placed a seal to his inner beast. He was only allowed to break the seal during life and death situations. But so far, he had never encountered such an instance.

 

So Steve fought if provoked but kept a calm and friendly demeanor most of the time. He was known as a pacifist in the Legion, but a pacifist that you never wanted to cross unless you wanted to unleash the beast within.

 

He calmly walked down the hall towards the elevator banks. He glanced at the watch on his left wrist and discovered that it was barely an hour after he met the Captain America actor in the elevator.

 

He smiled to himself as he imagined the handsome actor’s lips as the other man unconsciously licked them while in the elevator earlier. He can be patient with this particular prey. The satisfaction of the hunt was always greater if he played more before devouring his food.

 

++++++++++

 

Bucky woke up with a start. He was not sure why he woke up, but a sudden thought immediately entered his mind.

 

An assassin! The hot guy was an assassin. He could be. Why else would he be carrying a hidden sword around?

 

He did not even stop to think of the reason why he woke up with those thoughts in his head. The only thing on his mind was that he needed to go back to where the hot guy got off and check if any murders had happened while he was asleep.

 

He glanced at the bedside clock and realized that he had only been asleep for less than an hour.

 

Was that even enough time to murder someone and for everyone else to know? Wouldn’t he come off as suspicious if he was the one who informed the hotel employees about a possible assassination? Was the hot guy, who could be an assassin, still there?

 

Bucky felt more troubled at the possibility of not seeing the hot guy again to even care about the other things like murder or dead hotel guests. He hurried out of his hotel room and rode the elevator.

 

When the elevator door opened two floors down, Bucky froze and promptly forgot the reason why he was supposed to get out of the elevator car. That was because the hot blond just walked into the elevator and gave him the brightest smile that showed his perfect set of teeth. Bucky felt himself blush from his toes to the tips of his ears.

 

The blond looked at Bucky as if the man knew why Bucky was riding the elevator. He turned to the elevator buttons and saw that there were no other buttons that were glowing. That meant that Bucky intended to get off on the blond’s floor, but he didn’t even move half a step.

 

The man glanced at Bucky’s sleep-rumpled clothes and his messy hair and the blond’s smile turned into a knowing smirk. He pressed the button for the ground floor.

 

Bucky opened his mouth to speak but he only managed to open and close his mouth like a fish.

 

The blond lifted a questioning brow at him before looking down at the phone that he was holding in his right hand. He dialed a number on his phone and lifted it up to his ear, not paying Bucky any more attention.

 

Bucky took that chance to study the blond more carefully. He also tried his best to surreptitiously listen in to the phone call.

 

There was a small smear of blood at the back of the blond’s neck, just below the fine hairs of his hairline. Bucky thought that maybe it was from putting back a bloody sword, if the hot blond really went off to kill someone earlier. Aside from that, nothing seemed to be out of place from the blond’s hair to his clothes or even his demeanor. Bucky stared hard at the blond’s back, but he still could not make out any shape of a scabbard or a sword under the back of the blond’s navy peacoat.

 

 _How exactly is he hiding the sword?_ Bucky wondered.

           

“Mission report. Target 35A0277E20 eliminated,” the blond said into his phone in a low voice, but Bucky still managed to hear it.

 

His eyes went wide at the man’s indifferent tone at the possible mention of eliminating his target. Bucky was familiar with such terms, because he also used them in his movie dialogues. He gulped. Did that mean that he really thought right? Did the blond really kill someone?

 

The blond waited for a few seconds, listening to the reply from the other end of the line. “How many targets before I win?” the blond asked again. He hummed in response after listening to the other line.

 

Bucky found himself inching closer. He wanted to hear more of the phone conversation. He thought it might be helpful if he got questioned later because of the murder in his hotel. But then again, he also wanted to know more about the blond, and he did not want to see the handsome blond in prison. He bit the inside of his cheek when he heard the rustling of his clothes. He knew the other man could hear him too, so he froze in place.

 

The blond thankfully ignored him and continued the phone call. “Thank you for your assistance. Goodbye.” The blond ended the call and put the phone in the pocket of his coat.

 

At the same time, the elevator bell announced that they had finally reached the ground floor. The doors opened and the blond glanced at him with a small but flirty smile at him.

Wait, flirty? Did the hot blond just smile at him flirtingly?

 

Bucky felt his knees go weak and he leaned against the elevator wall for support as he watched the hot blond walk away and walk out of the hotel through the open elevator door.


	2. Obsession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky obsesses over the hot blond that he met last night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still new at this posting fiction thing. It took me a while to figure out how to post the next chapter. Lol. But here it is. I hope you enjoy Bucky's obsession with Steve.
> 
> I don't have a set schedule in posting. I will post a new chapter/fic as soon as it is available.
> 
> Send me a comment to let me know what you think. Thanks!

“I swear, Nat. I wasn’t dreaming. He really killed somebody who was staying at the 12th floor. I was there when he got out. It was really blood on the back of his neck,” Bucky exclaimed as he frantically waved his arms in the air to emphasize his point.

 

Natasha, his best friend and co-star, raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at him. The look on her face told him that she was listening but was just humoring him, because she was a good friend like that.

They were sitting inside his trailer, taking a break from filming. It was the day after he met the hot blond assassin, and he could not help but share his new-found obsession with her.

 

“Was there any news of the hotel’s housekeeping ever finding a dead body in the 12th floor?” Nat asked with a neutral tone after she took a drink of her iced coffee.

 

Bucky was stumped at the question. He slowly shook his head.

 

In truth, Bucky may have secretly called the hotel’s concierge to inform them that he had heard strange noises in the 12th floor, and that it sounded like someone was in distress. After that, he waited for any news of murders or strange happenings, but nothing came up. It was really strange.

 

If the hot blond did not kill anybody last night, then why did he need the sword? He did not look like any fictional characters that he knew to be cosplaying. And the hot blond did not even stay at the hotel last night. He left! And he even caught Bucky in the elevator. Although Bucky did not feel any regret getting caught by the hot blond. The way that he looked at Bucky was enough to compensate for his embarrassment last night.

 

Bucky’s train of thought went astray as he remembered the look on the hot blond’s face when he smiled at him, and those pouty lips… Oh the things he could do with those lips. They looked like red, succulent fruits that Bucky wanted to kiss, lick, and bite.

“You really need to snap out of it before we resume filming,” Nat calmly reminded him, pulling him out of his fantasies. She sipped her iced coffee as she looked at his dreamy face.

“But… But I need to know. I need to make sure if he really killed somebody or not. What if I see him again? He saw me Nat. He looked me in the eyes with his beautiful blue eyes, and he smiled at me with his pretty red lips. He knows me! What if I bump into him at Starbucks? What if we get coffee at the same time at Starbucks? What do I do? Should I talk to him? Should I buy him coffee to bribe him not to kill me, because I was a witness to his murder last night? What do I do if he smiles at me again? What if he asks for my name? What if he asks for my number to constantly threaten me with his smooth voice. What—”

 

“Barnes, shut up,” Natasha said in a tone that brooked no argument. 

 

Her green eyes were set in a stern expression. She held her iced coffee aloft, as if she wanted to throw it at him but was thinking that she still needed a cold drink to counter the hot weather outside. And she only called him Barnes instead of James whenever she was tired of his antics.

 

Nat was truly Bucky’s bestest best friend. They had known each other for years even before they both starred in the Marvel movies. She would always make him feel threatened while smiling sweetly at him, making him unable to run away. The way she raised her eyebrows or the smirks that she would give him always gave him the impression that the Black Widow role was truly based on her and not on a comic book character.

 

She did not raise her voice but Bucky immediately zipped his mouth, because no matter how hot the blond god was, he still had a little left of his self-preservation. He could hear the unspoken threat in Nat’s words, because she had used that very same tone on him in the past when she threatened to have his balls after accidentally ruining her favorite dress.

 

So Bucky shut up, but it did not stop his rant from continuing inside his mind.

 

_ What if he comes after me? What if he chases me? Should I just let him catch me and let him have his way with me? Is he going to use his sword on me? I’m sure his other sword is exceptional. Do I put out on the first date? Wait, should I be the one to ask him on a date? What do I say to him? Do I smile at him like how he smiled beautifully at me last night? Or do I look serious because trying to ask an assassin out is a serious business. _

 

His inner thoughts about the blond assassin nattered on. He fantasized about the man even when Nat pointed her narrowed eyes at him.

 

He gave her a smile as he took another cold water bottle from the mini refrigerator inside his trailer. He opened the bottle and took a long drink to stop himself from overheating from thinking too much about the hot blond.

 

When Nat finished drinking her iced coffee, she started checking her phone. Bucky also did the same. He checked the local news to see if any murders were reported within the week. He was actually surprised that there were a few reported murders, but there was nothing close to where his hotel was. There was not even any news about the hotel last night.

 

So, okay, maybe Bucky was just being paranoid. Maybe he just had an overactive imagination and imagined that the hot guy that he saw last night was an assassin just because he saw him pull a hidden sword from his coat and had a small bit of blood on his nape. Maybe it wasn’t even blood. But Bucky was sure that the red stuff was not there the first time that he saw the hot blond. Nope. It was a new addition to the blond’s hot body that he had somehow gotten in less than an hour that they parted. 

 

He sighed. He wished he could have gotten close enough to confirm if the red stuff on the hot blond’s nape was really blood or some sort of red jam or jelly. Maybe if he could just have licked the stuff…

 

Nat snapped her fingers right in front of his face. He was apparently staring off into space while holding his phone aloft in one hand.

 

“You’re drooling,” Nat said. One side of her lips was quirked in an amused smirk.

 

Bucky hurriedly wiped his mouth with the back of his free hand, but he saw no traces of wetness from any drool. He looked accusingly at Nat with an offended expression.

 

She smirked some more. “Oh, I thought I saw you drooling over some hot stranger you met last night. My mistake.” She looked down at her phone and started playing a balloon-popping game. 

 

He scowled at her but did not say anything in response, because they both knew that he had indeed been drooling over the hot blond minus the drool.

 

“If you had a photo of him, you could have used Google’s reverse image search to find him. You may not see him again, you know,” Nat said without looking up from her phone.

 

Bucky groaned in his seat and pressed his phone to his forehead. 

 

Ugh! How could he have missed that? Why did he not dare to take a picture of the hot blond last night? The guy already caught him snooping around, what could another small thing like taking a picture of him for Bucky’s wank bank do?

 

“You have a serious problem, James. You may need to get that head of yours checked,” Nat said with only a small bit of concern lacing her dulcet voice.

 

Bucky bit his lower lip and resolved himself. It was his day off tomorrow. He will spend his time off  looking for the hot guy. Bucky will make sure that the hot blond knew that Bucky was not going to report him to the authorities. He will also make sure to get his number so that he could call him and maybe ask him on a date. He will definitely find him!

 

“Just don’t keep your hopes up, James. I know you’re not the type who just wants a one-night stand. So be careful.” 

 

Bucky looked up at Nat. She was now looking at him with naked concern in her eyes. But that expression changed into her default resting bitch face as soon as their eyes met. Even if he only saw her true feelings for a short while, Bucky still appreciated her sincerity.

 

He was about to say something to her when they both heard a knock on his trailer’s door. Bucky stood up and opened the door to find a harried-looking crew member.

 

“Hey guys, we need you both in Makeup in five,” the crew member informed them and promptly left.

 

Nat stood up and left the trailer with Bucky. They both went to the makeup artists to fix their makeup for the scene, their previous conversation temporarily forgotten as they discussed their upcoming scene.

 

  
  



	3. Second Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky sees the hot stranger again at a Starbucks, but it's not quite the second meeting he had imagined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This idea came out of the blue before I even started writing this fic.

It was a clear Saturday morning. Bucky just stepped out of a Starbucks near his hotel with a venti Coconut Milk Mocha Macchiato in his hand, because he was forever a sweet tooth. He was dressed in comfortable clothes and shoes that were good enough for him to walk around the city.

 

He studied the people that were on the streets, hoping to maybe see a certain hot blond. He sipped at his sweet coffee as he craned his neck left and right.

 

He was pleasantly surprised when he saw the tall, blond god of his recent, hot fantasies. The blond was stalking through the crowd. Bucky involuntarily shuddered as he saw the blond’s swaggering gait with a pleasant expression on his face. It was as if the blond was having a perfect day and nothing could rain on his parade.

 

He hurriedly gulped down his coffee when he realized that he had frozen on his spot on the sidewalk, and the hot blond was looking straight at him. The guy was stalking straight towards him!

 

It was like watching a dangerous predator calmly and leisurely stalking his prey.

 

Bucky felt a pleasant shudder run through his spine. After a beat, he panicked. He did not know what to do. No amount of preparation in his daydreams could ever prepare him for this very moment.

 

This was it! He would finally get to talk to the blond and get to know his name and number! Bucky was so excited that his hands started shaking.

 

He tightened his grip on his coffee cup and put his other hand inside his jeans’ pocket. He held his breath as he saw the blond smile brightly at him as the distance between them grew closer. He could feel his cheeks growing hot. He felt like scratching the back of his neck, but he did not want to show the blond how his hand was shaking due to nervousness and anticipation.

 

He almost wished that the rest of the people around them would just disappear so that he had a clear view of the blond’s perfect physical form.

 

The blond was wearing a dark blue henley under an open red and blue button down shirt. He was wearing dark jeans and the same leather boots that he wore when they first met.

 

Bucky could imagine the blond taking off those clothes and revealing his definitely perfect body. It took all of his strength not to pop a boner right in the middle of the sidewalk.

 

It was only a few feet before they were at speaking distance with each other when sounds of two gun shots rang out.

 

Everyone in the crown ducked down for some cover. Bucky clutched his coffee cup so hard that he almost spilled some on himself as he squatted and crawled behind a parked car in front of Starbucks. The rest of the crowd were in various states of panic and alertness.

 

Bucky glanced at the hot blond and found the guy crouched down on the ground. He was looking at two bullet marks that were on the wall in the direction of where the blond had been only a few seconds ago.

 

It was now clear to Bucky that the shots were meant for the blond. His eyes widened, fearing for the blond’s life. Even though he knew that the blond was an assassin, it still did not stop him from worrying. He still wanted to date the guy. So it was important for Bucky that the blond stayed alive, preferably during their future date and maybe after the blond had his way with Bucky or the other way around. Maybe after several dates and sexy times.

 

The blond rolled to a low squat as he took cover behind a nearby car. He took a peek from above the car’s hood. Almost immediately after, another gunshot rang. The blond managed to duck in time to avoid getting shot in the face.

 

Bucky cringed. He gripped his coffee cup harder, the contents finally spilling on his hand. He threw the coffee cup away, wiping the liquid on the side of his jeans while his eyes were still trained on what the blond was doing. He bit his lower lip as he stopped himself from shouting out to him.

 

He did not want to call attention to the blond. Whoever was trying to kill him may use Bucky to get to the guy. And he did not want to be the reason why his future boyfriend got killed even before they had a proper date, let alone have a proper conversation together.

 

The blond did not even blink or look rattled after getting shot at. He crouched in front of the backseat door of the car and lightly punched the glass.

 

Bucky gasped when the glass broke with just a light punch. He had to do some stunts for his Captain America movies, and he knew how it would hurt like a bitch if he did that himself. But the blond seemed unharmed from the broken glass. He grabbed the edge of the car door’s window frame and pulled. There was a sound of metal tearing and Bucky watched with wide eyes and hanging jaw as the blond effortlessly lifted the car’s backseat door.

 

The blond stood up and, using the broken car door as a shield in front of him, he ran towards the direction of the shooter. Several shots rang out and hit the other side of the car’s metal door. The blond managed to run unobstructed across the street, even managing to jump over a few cars like they were just small stones on the ground, due to the fact that the cars had stopped running and the pedestrians had already taken cover from the first volley of shots.

 

Bucky was still gaping and doing an impression of a Magikarp when the blond turned around a corner and disappeared from his sights. He slumped on the ground, leaning heavily on the side of the car. He was unable to think of anything else but the bulging arm muscles of the blond as he lifted the car door and how hot the guy looked when he jumped over the cars.

 

He could feel all of his blood flow south. He hugged his knees to cover up the evidence of his weird obsession to the hot, badass blond. He was hoping that it would go away anytime soon so that he could either go back to his hotel and tell Nat all about what happened or chase after the blond.

 

After a few deep breaths to try and calm himself down, he was still painfully hard. He groaned, lowering his forehead to his knees. The image of the blond pulling off the car door was burned behind his eyelids.

 

Damn the guy was so hot! And he was so strong, too! He pulled the metal car door like it was just a piece of paper. He even carried the car door as he ran and jumped without breaking a sweat.

 

Bucky imagined all the ways that the blond could use that strength on him and he groaned some more. His fantasies about the blond bench pressing him was not helping to flag down his erection.

 

He bit his lower lip hard and tried to think of Nick Fury pole dancing while wearing stripper leather attire just to help little Bucky calm down.

 

It could be said that Bucky always had a very good imagination. So when he started imagining Nick Fury in leather underwear while hanging from a pole, his little Bucky’s enthusiasm died down at the speed of light.

 

He groaned some more, scolding himself from the nightmare-inducing visual that he gave himself.

 

The phone in his pocket rang. He hurriedly answered the call because it was Nat’s designated ring tone. He knew better than to make her wait lest he suffer the consequences later.

 

“Hey,” he said, trying to sound nonchalant but it came off as wheezy instead.

 

“Are you okay? Where are you right now?” Nat asked in a worried voice.

 

“I’m…”

 

He looked around and found that the sound of gunshots were gone. The traffic on the road resumed and the rest of the pedestrians tried to scurry away from the area as fast as they could. Several police cars started pulling over at the spot where the blond had been initially shot at. Some people were checking out the two gunshot marks on the wall.

 

“James? Where are you? Tell me if you’re okay. There were suddenly a lot of tweets about a shooting incident near the Starbucks where you told me you were going to. Are you still there? Are you safe?” Nat asked in rapid succession. Nat may look cold and unconcerned to others and the rest of the world most of the time with her resting bitch face, but she was a caring friend. Her rapid-fire questions despite her calm voice was evidence enough of her humanity.

 

“I’m still in front of Starbucks. I just…” He took a deep breath, not really sure of what to say first. “He was here, Nat. He was here!”

 

“What? Who are you talking about, James?”

 

“The hot blond assassin was here earlier.” Bucky looked left and right to check if he was being followed or if others were listening in on him.

 

He breathed a sigh of relief when he found that most of the people were busy tweeting and taking pictures of the shooting. He hurriedly walked towards the direction of his hotel. He figured that the blond definitely knew him now and would definitely come to find him. He found that he was more excited than nervous at the thought of meeting the guy again.

 

He just worried about the blond’s current status. Was he okay? Why was he being shot at? What happened? Did he have enemies that wanted him dead? Was it because of what happened at the hotel two nights ago? Was it for revenge?

 

“James, come back to the hotel and meet me in my room,” Nat ordered. Bucky did not raise any objections and just said goodbye, promising that he would be there as fast as he could.

 

Bucky also received calls and text messages from the directors and staff at Marvel, and his family and friends who knew that he was there. He called and texted them back along the way to the hotel to assure them that he was fine. Apparently, there were some pedestrians who tweeted about him while he was getting his coffee at Starbucks. And when the shooting started, they included him in the hashtags.

 

There were also tweets about the blond assassin. Some people had seen him run away while using a car door as a shield. Some mentioned words like super soldiers and Captain America. Some even tweeted that it was just some unannounced filming of the Captain America movie because Bucky was there at the same time.

 

Bucky tried to check for any tweets with attached photos of the blond, but was disappointed that no one had posted a single picture. Why would anyone not take a photo of his hotness? But Bucky couldn't really blame others when he, himself, had failed to do so due to getting distracted by how strong and badass the hot blond was.

 

There were many theories, but one thing was for sure, no one knew who the blond was. It was as if he disappeared. The police could not find any traces of the blond, not where he went or even the identity of the shooter.

 

On the evening news, later that night, Bucky and Nat saw no mention of the blond in connection to the Cleveland shooting at all. It was as if he was omitted or overlooked by the news channels. Nat even helped Bucky check the Internet for any news online, but the blond was never mentioned. The news about the earlier shooting did not reveal much, and it was labeled as a random shooting by a deranged person who got hold of a gun.

 

But Bucky knew better. He saw what happened firsthand. Even Nat started to take the matter of the blond assassin seriously after hearing the full story of that morning from him.

 

He just could not stop himself from worrying about the guy. He would really feel bad and deprived of future happiness and sex if the blond assassin died or disappeared from his life.

 

When he returned to his own room to sleep that night, the last thought that he had before closing his eyes was that of the blond. He asked the powers that be for another meeting with the blond, and he promised that if he ever saw the guy again, he would grab the chance to finally get his name. He just hoped that the blond was safe wherever he was at the moment.


	4. Third Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky wakes up to a handsome, blond intruder in his hotel room. Words are finally exchanged between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Steve is not a creepy stalker. At least Bucky doesn't think so. hueheheh

Steve was pissed. He just left the building where the sniper had positioned to shoot him.

 

He only managed to check the enemy’s serial number as it appeared in his scanner. The enemy’s signal was moving away from his current location at an incredible speed until it eventually left the scanner’s scope.

 

He thought he was having a good start with his morning when he saw his beautiful prey just outside of Starbucks. He started thinking of getting some coffee with the guy and finally asking for an autograph to bring back for Her Majesty.

 

But, apparently, there was a nearby enemy who wanted to deprive Steve of his first morning cup of coffee. The shooter even had the gall to be as loud and as public as possible about it. It seemed that his enemy wanted to show off. How rude.

 

Steve was never one to run away from a fight. He never ran away when he was younger, skinny, and asthmatic. He would never run away even more now that he was in his peak physical condition at 6 feet and 2 inches and 190 pounds.

 

He planned to hunt the shooter down and give him a taste of his own medicine when he least expected it.

 

But before that, he called one of his contact in his phone to deal with the aftermath of the very public shooting.

 

“Hi, Peggy,” he said with a pleasant voice.

 

He always liked talking to Peggy Carter. She was a no-nonsense woman that could easily beat him up if he pissed her off too much. She was also his closest friend after the Queen.

 

“Steve, I assume you are calling about the incident earlier,” Peggy Carter said in a matter-of-fact tone.

 

She was the head of the Legion’s Intelligence Division. It was a given that she was already informed of any news about the competition’s arena. He wouldn’t even be surprised if she also knew how the authorities in Cleveland took their coffee.

“The security cameras have already been taken care of. The Overseers have helpfully informed me beforehand that any incident involving the competition will be handled accordingly,” she continued.

 

Steve breathed a sigh of relief. He already anticipated that the competition’s Overseers would do such a thing, but it being reminded of it reassured him. Because the Underworld was only known to a few commoners as decreed by the Great Ruler, measures were in place to ensure that the decree was followed to the letter.

 

He knew that his beautiful prey would probably be thinking about him right now. He would surely be worried if he, along with everyone else in the common world, were kept in the dark about the shooting incident this morning.

 

The thought of Bucky Barnes thinking and maybe worrying about him brought a smile to Steve’s lips.

 

“Thank you, Peggy,” Steve said.

 

“The only thanks I need is for you to win this competition without a hitch. I know it’s already expected that you would succeed, but you are not the only strong competitor. Remember that this is your trial by fire. Come out on top, and Her Majesty will most likely reward you.”

 

“The only reward I need is Her Majesty’s praise. You know that.”

 

He heard Peggy chuckle from the other line. “I felt the same during my own time. But I realized later that it was best for the Queen to owe me a gift than have none at all. Think of it as an insurance. Who knows, you might need to ask Her Majesty a favor one day.”

 

Sometimes, Steve forgot that Peggy had been Her Majesty’s representative in the domain competitions. She always looked like a young woman in her early twenties since they first met ten years ago. Physically, she never seemed to change, but only seemed to grow more and more beautiful and refined.

 

Peggy Carter might look like a young maiden, but her physique and beauty belied her true age and strength. Peggy was stronger and older than Steve by several decades. But her apparent youth and their camaraderie with each other always made him forget that she was his senior. She would only pull rank on him if he did things that were particularly crazy. She was his outside voice of reason if not a helpful source of intel.

 

She had been and always will be a good source of advice and guidance to Steve. And he was more than thankful now that he had her as his best friend.

 

He would have told her that there was nothing else that he could ever ask for after the Queen had granted his wish to be strong. But Peggy was his senior and knew better than him, so he chose to keep her advice to heart.

 

They exchanged information. Peggy told him about the new intel that were gathered about his enemies.

 

Steve felt reinvigorated after his conversation with Peggy. He thought about her advice and decided that it wouldn’t hurt to receive a reward from the Queen. Her Majesty was able to bring him back from the dead, so it wouldn’t be so hard for her to grant him something along those lines in the future.

 

After ending the call with Peggy, Steve checked the scanner on his phone and headed for the nearest target that appeared in his scope. Even if he met strong enemies during the competition, he will never back down from the fight and win. He will reach to top for his Queen, and he will prove to everyone that the time that she spent personally training him was all worth it.

 

++++++++++

 

Bucky woke up to the sound of movement inside his room. He sat up from his bed, his heart beating wildly and clutching the blanket to his naked chest. He normally slept with only his underwear on if he was not at home. If it was at home, he preferred to sleep in the nude. But now, he was thankful that he at least had his boxers to shield him from the intruder.

 

He turned towards the source of the sound, hearing the cold, night air whistling into the slightly open window of his hotel room. But he knew that he kept the windows closed before he went to sleep.

 

He turned on the lamp beside his bed. And, as he had more light to see clearly in the darkened room, he realized that a blond man with a muscular body crouched in front of the window while holding on to a matte black sniper rifle. The nozzle of the rifle was pointed out of the small opening in the hotel’s window. That was where the sound of the wind came from that woke him up.

 

Bucky gaped at the blond. He could not imagine that the powers that be would answer his wishes so soon. He was still unprepared! He opened his mouth to say something to the blond, but the blond just calmly turned towards him as if he did not intrude into Bucky’s hotel room unannounced.

 

With a sweet smile, the blond said, “Please, go back to sleep. I’ll be done in a moment. My apologies for interrupting your rest.”

 

He did not even give any explanation as to why he snuck into Bucky’s room this time of night. The blond just went straight to an apology. Bucky can’t even find it in himself to be angry or disturbed. In fact, he felt pleased that the blond showed up in his hotel room.

 

Bucky just sat there and watched the blond turn back to the scope of the sniper rifle. He did not dare make a sound and just studied the blond’s gorgeous form. His muscles were relaxed but Bucky could sense his alertness. He knew that the blond was tracking his every move, so he did not move a muscle and just calmly waited. He did not want to interrupt the blond and just waited for it to end so that he can finally talk to him and get to know him better.

 

He was already half naked in bed. Maybe he could entice the blond assassin to join him in bed. He smiled at that thought and just continued to watch the blond.

 

“Not tonight, babe,” the blond said in a voice that dropped a few octaves without looking away from his scope.

 

Bucky shivered with just the sound of his voice. The term of endearment also did not escape Bucky. He was deeply thrilled with the fact that the blond called him babe. But he maintained his silence as the blond held his breath and then pulled the sniper rifle’s trigger.

 

After a beat, the blond straightened from his crouched position and began to disassemble the matte black rifle. He took a black case from the floor and carefully put the rifle parts inside.

 

The blond made a move towards the door, and that was when Bucky finally decided to speak. It was now or never.

 

“What’s your name?” he asked, his hands clutched the blanket that pooled on his lap due to nerves.

 

The blond stopped halfway to the door and turned to him with a thoughtful look. He put down the black case on the floor and sat on the side of the bed where Bucky was.

 

Bucky froze when the blond gave him an alluring smile while his blue eyes twinkled with interest as he studied Bucky’s face. The blond reached out with his right hand and cupped the side of Bucky’s face. The blond leaned down and kissed him on the lips.

 

It was a light kiss, a little dry but warm, barely there but still made heat pool in Bucky’s lower abdomen. It was there and gone before Bucky could even blink. But the blond did not move away, his warm breath was ghosting against Bucky’s tingling lips.

 

“Steve,” the blond whispered against his lips.

 

Bucky inhaled, trying to breathe the blond’s name in, trying to commit it to memory and etch it on his lips. He smiled and he felt Steve smile against his lips. There was that barely there kiss again, and then Steve stood up from the bed. He took the case from the floor and headed for the door.

 

“When can I see you again?” Bucky could not help but ask.

 

Steve stopped just in front of the door and looked over his shoulder with a small smile aimed at Bucky. “I’ll be around, and I know where to find you. Good night, Bucky.” And with that, he was gone.

 

Bucky had a huge smile as he laid back down in bed. The sound of his name from Steve’s lips made him incredibly happy. Steve's voice made him shiver. He buried his giggles in his pillows as he reenacted the feathery kisses that Steve gave him in his mind.

 

He had a good dream when he eventually fell asleep after a good wank. Steve's smooth, low voice saying his name alone fed many of his fantasies. He just couldn't help himself, and he did not feel guilty about it either.

 

Steve had made the first move. He kissed Bucky first! That already cleared any doubts that Bucky had whether or not Steve would date Bucky. The floodgates were now wide open. He only needed to wait for Steve to come to him. And the next time that they met, he would be the one to kiss him first. Bucky wanted to show Steve that he was also very, very much interested.

 

And in the morning, when Nat and Sam asked him why he was so chipper after being involved in a live shooting incident, he would just give them a shit-eating grin and keep Steve’s visit a secret for just a little while.

 

Only just for a little while, because Nat would catch on the reason for his good mood sooner or later, and he didn’t want to be subjected to her brand of interrogation techniques.

 


	5. Stalking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky stalks Steve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I already added the tag for violence. This story has violent scenes. I am a beginner in writing action or fight scenes, so please forgive me if it comes out lacking.
> 
> Thank you for reading!

After breakfast, Nat took Bucky out shopping with her. She said she needed some retail therapy after the long hours of work from the previous week. But Bucky knew that the real reason why she insisted that he go with her was to distract him from his thoughts of Steve and the shooting yesterday.

 

She probably thought that he was still rattled and was just showing a smile to everybody to assure them. But Bucky was really happy right now. The shooting incident, although it still brought questions to his mind, was no longer a priority for him. At the forefront of his mind, he was thinking of Steve’s promise to come find him.

 

So Bucky went along with Nat. Even though it turned out that they were picking more clothes for him now and not for her, he still did not voice any complaint. He would even give his opinions about her choices if asked, but he trusted Nat’s tastes in fashion.

 

They were now in their fifth store. Bucky was waiting near the door while waiting for Nat as she paid for their latest haul. On his feet were several shopping bags that contained his and her new clothes and accessories. Nat even bought some stuff for him, a clear evidence of her trying to discreetly make him feel better.

 

He just happened to look outside of the store’s glass front window when he saw Steve walk by. He glanced at Nat’s direction and saw that she was still at the check-out counter. He turned towards the glass window and saw that Steve was about to disappear from his sight. Without hesitation, he left the store and followed the blond, forgetting about Nat or the shopping bags.

 

Steve was walking at a fast pace. His stalking gait made him look like a predator that had scented its prey and was already on the chase to catch it. 

 

He felt his mouth go dry at the sight of Steve’s broad back and the perfect curves of his ass. Oh, that ass! Bucky could write odes to Steve’s perfect ass. Those two perfect mounds that he was sure he could bounce a quarter on.

 

Steve was wearing his navy pea coat again. He was wearing a dark shirt, dark washed jeans and his black boots. Bucky noticed that Steve preferred to wear dark colors, as if trying to blend into the shadows. 

 

Despite Steve’s god-like looks and physique, the people around him seemed to be giving him a wide berth or ignoring him outright. It seemed an impossible feat to Bucky, and he felt indignant on Steve’s behalf. But the blond did not seem to mind. In fact, Steve walked as if he knew that no one would get in his way.

 

He chased after Steve, but the blond was fast. It took Bucky great effort just to ensure that he did not lose the blond from his sight. He wanted to call out to Steve. But, then, he remembered that Steve was an assassin. 

 

Steve could be doing assassin-y stuff right now. And Bucky did not want to get in Steve’s way. He didn’t want Steve to get in trouble because of him and run the risk of pissing the blond off. A pissed off assassin was always a bad idea. But a pissed off Steve was hot when Bucky imagined the blond being pissed off at him. It made him shiver involuntarily and he desperately tried to rein in his desires.

 

After two blocks of stalking, Steve entered an alley. Bucky tried to follow him as stealthily as possible. He was thankful of his pre-movie training, because it helped him to easily take control of his own body and have the energy to keep up with Steve’s pace.

 

Steve turned to another, smaller alley. Bucky saw that the blond stopped. With his wide back to Bucky, Steve pulled out the stiletto sword from the back of his navy pea coat. It was the second time that Bucky saw the hidden sword being drawn, and he was still not sure how Steve managed to hide the thing. The sword and the scabbard seemed to be molded to his back and conceal its presence until the blond pulled it out like a magician pulling out a rabbit from a random hat.

 

He inched closer and was thankful enough that he could be within hearing distance of Steve.

 

Bucky had hoped that Steve did not notice him. But with assassins, he can never be sure of such things. And so Bucky stopped and tried to hide behind a dumpster that was thankfully closed but was still reeking of garbage.

 

++++++++++

 

Steve pulled out his sword after sensing that Bucky had stopped at a spot just behind the dumpster. He would table the matter of the actor on his heels for later. Now, he had targets to eliminate.

 

He watched as two men jumped out from the rooftop of a three-storey building and into the small alley that he was in.

 

Both of the men were muscular and dark-haired. Both of them looked older than Steve, but with the nature of the competitors, it was hard to judge how old they really were. So Steve did not mind that fact.

 

When he saw the two men standing, poised to fight, in front of him, he also readied himself. It was the first time that he had encountered two participants working together. But it was not something unexpected. Alliances can be made with the right party. The competition allowed alliances to help the weaker rulers have a greater chance of avoiding the lower half of the rankings.

 

The competition’s results are based on the number of enemies that each participant defeated. The higher your “kill count”, the higher your chances of avoiding the bottom half. Based on the rules, the rulers that belonged to the bottom half of the competition will have their domains open for conquest. Conquest meant war. It was a means to give the other rulers the opportunity to expand their domains or for new rulers to emerge and join the ranks of the cream of the crop. 

 

Steve was already guaranteed to be in the upper half. But he was aiming for the top. He knew that he was a prime target for the alliances because it would stop him from moving up the ranks and will also give the other remaining participants the chance to increase their rankings after taking care of the remaining enemies.

 

“Should we start?” he said with a smile.

 

The two men glanced at each other first. After a silent agreement, the two pulled out their own weapons. One of them had a pair of short swords, while the other was holding a modified minigun. His enemy’s weapons glowed with reinforced qi.

 

Steve whistled. One was a short-range fighter while the other one was a long-range fighter. They did make a good combination. At first look, Steve already saw that the shorts swords user was in the mid-stage of the Second Tier while the other was in the late stage.

 

All of them were in the Elite tiers but Steve was stronger than them. He may be at a higher tier than the two men, but he did not dare underestimate the two. Who knew that tricks the two had or combinations they had up in their sleeves.

 

Steve smiled. So far, he had only encountered early to mid-stage Second Tiers. Most of the participants seemed to be in Foundation Establishment. But he also knew that the top rankers were already at the late stage of the Second Tiers and only a handful were on the Third Tier like him. But no matter what their levels of cultivations were, Steve would still not dare slack off. He owed his power to his Queen, and he would show the world that her efforts were not wasted on him.

 

It was the man with the short swords who moved first. He attacked Steve, swinging both blades in an X to slash at him. The other man stepped back and began shooting Steve with specialized nerve bullets that could paralyze him to for days.

 

He dogged the swords, swinging his own stiletto sword at his first attacker. A bullet grazed his cheek when he turned. A thin line of blood appeared just below his cheek bone. He felt a numbing feeling in his cheek but he used his inner qi to counter it.

 

Steve grinned. Blood was spilled. He could not wait to spill more.

 

He slashed at the sword user with the sword in his right hand, while flicked his left wrist to the direction of the minigun user. Three hidden knives flew out towards the gun-wielder. The man was able to dodge the first three knives, but a fourth one was hidden with the attack and lodged at the back of the man’s trigger hand. The man shouted in surprise as his hand fell to the side, useless as the paralyzing substance laced in the knife took effect immediately. Blood spilled from the man’s hand, but the man ignored it in favor of securing the weight of the minigun to his side with his remaining hand. He shot at Steve, but the blond managed to turn, so that the sword user was directly in the gun user’s line of fire. It made the gun user stop attacking, moving to a different position. 

 

The gun user threw the minigun to the side and pulled out a one-handed sword from the strap on his back. He circled Steve and the short swords user, and then attacked Steve from behind.

 

The short swords user turned to avoid Steve’s attack. His enemy moved with incredible speed, using the power of his late-stage Second Tier cultivation. He stabbed at Steve’s side but the blond parried the attack, flicking his left wrist once more, surprising the sword user with a hidden blade to the knee. It locked the man’s left knee, rendering the whole leg useless with paralysis.

 

He wheeled around the short swords user to avoid the attack from the other one-handed sword user. He kicked the short swords user in the back, taking advantage of the man’s paralyzed left leg to throw him towards his companion’s direction. The one-handed sword user did not catch his companion, while the other man hit the wall face first with a loud crack.

 

The short swords user’s arms hung limply, and the two swords clanged on the ground. With the force of Steve’s kick, the upper half of the man’s body was buried in the wall.

 

He would normally have finished the fight right at that moment. But he felt like showing off because he had an audience. He smiled wider as he turned to his remaining enemy who was the weaker of the two attackers.

 

Steve maintained the smile on his face, while the other man had a dark expression that screamed for his blood. Steve smiled wider. He lived for these sorts of things. And the more he fought, the more he could measure his strength against the others.

 

After a beat, they both rushed towards the other and swung their swords.

 


	6. Make Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky and Steve finally make out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's really challenging to write these scenes in public/or semi-public. If anyone reads this over my shoulder, I would probably turn into a tomato. lol.

 

Bucky frantically covered his mouth this his hand as he tried to suppress a gasp from escaping. 

 

Everything happened so fast. Attacks and moves were exchanged in just a few blinks. One moment, Steve was standing alone in the narrow alley. The next, two men jumped out of nowhere, pulled out their weapons, and the three started fighting.

 

Were these people Steve’s enemies? Were they the ones responsible for the shooting yesterday?

 

Bucky was not sure of what to think at the moment. All he could focus on was Steve and the way he fought like a golden god of war. 

 

Steve’s movements were fast, faster than his two opponents. It was like watching Steve play around with children. That was the impression that Bucky got after watching that the other two were now injured while Steve only had a small graze on the cheek.

 

Oh god, Steve’s beautiful face nearly got blown off by that guy with the gun! 

 

Bucky nearly shouted for Steve after seeing the small wound. It was a miracle that only a thin, bloody line appeared just below the blond’s left cheek bone. Bucky would be heartbroken if Steve’s beautiful face got blown off. But still, scars on Steve would probably look hot.

 

He shook his head out of his fantasies. He really should pay attention to Steve’s fight right now.

 

_ Focus, Barnes! Focus! _

 

Bucky’s eyes nearly bugged out when the fighting stopped for a second after the man with the swords got half-buried in a wall. The concrete wall now had a hole in it, while cracks appeared like spiderwebs around the man’s upper body that was bashed in. 

 

His jaw was gaping open behind the hand that was covering his mouth as he watched everything that transpired in just a matter of a few seconds.

 

_ Unbelievable! Are these people even human? Is Steve really a god? _

 

Bucky could not help but think that Steve was truly a god walking here on Earth. Even if the two other guys were clearly strong, Steve was clearly the predator in the group. They were more like super soldiers from the Marvel movies. It was unbelievable.

 

He watched as Steve and the remaining guy with the one-handed sword attacked each other. Their moves were now like a vicious dance, aiming at the other with every intent to maim and kill.

 

Steve’s enemy had a furious look on his face. But Steve was surprisingly still smiling. He had been smiling since the beginning as if he was just having a leisurely stroll at the park. The contrast of the two men’s expressions clearly showed who had the advantage in the fight.

 

Bucky’s other hand was on his chest, directly above his heart, clutching it with all the worry that he felt for Steve. No matter how strong and confident Steve appeared to be, Bucky could still not help but worry for the guy. He also felt angry at the blond’s enemies. Nobody should ever dare to lay a hand on his future boyfriend! Hurting Steve’s beautiful face and body was a crime to humanity!

 

In a few seconds, the end to the fight was clear. Steve’s enemy had a deep gash that ripped his jugular and ended just below his left rib cage. The man was bathed in blood, and he was struggling to breath as he drowned in his own blood, kneeling defeated in front of Steve.

 

“Deactivate your beacon and I will let you go,” Steve said in a low, cold voice.

 

Bucky shivered. Steve’s voice was laced with danger. But it also made heat pool down to Bucky’s nether regions. There was just something about the way Steve spoke that never failed to turn Bucky on.

 

The bloody man gaped at Steve. He tried to speak but no words came out.

 

The blond flicked his sword wrist. The stiletto sword gleamed as if it had a light of its own, now free of blood. Steve sheathed it back inside his navy pea coat.

 

Steve kicked the man’s sword away even though the man was holding on to it limply. He put his right foot on the man’s bloody chest and pushed him down on ground. The blond slashed at the man’s wrist and took out a silver band.

 

With that done, Steve turned away from the bleeding man and walked to the man who was still half-buring in the concrete wall. He grabbed the man’s back collar and pulled him from the wall.

 

Steve checked the man and pulled a silver band from the man’s neck. The man choked because Steve was as gentle as a mad dentist who was pulling teeth without anesthesia. That cleared Bucky’s doubts whether or not the man was still alive. Steve dropped the man on the ground.

 

How could these people even be still alive? Bucky wondered about many things. In just a short amount of time, two men turned half-dead just because of Steve acting like a golden god of war and death.

 

Bucky nearly moaned. Oh shit! If he wasn’t earlier, there was no doubt now that he was hard. He was so hard that it had become painful to be in his jeans. He reached down to adjust himself, wanting to get off but still had the sense to wait.

 

It really was not the right time to toss off no matter how hot Steve was. Even though Steve looked like a hot, conquering warlord right now amongst his fallen enemies, Bucky tried very hard to think about other things just to stop himself from coming with just the sight of Steve without even touching himself.

 

The blond took out his phone from his coat pocket and dialed a number. After a short wait, Steve reported his targets and checked his ranking. 

 

Bucky wanted to know more about what ranking the blond was talking about. He wanted to know if Steve was involved in something like a Fight Club like in the movies. Maybe it was a Fight Club for assassins. He had so many questions. If only he could pull Steve aside, trap him somewhere, as him questions, and then maybe have his way with him.

 

After the phone call, Steve checked himself to made sure that he did not look rumpled or bloody. Any trace of blood and violence mysteriously disappeared from Steve’s body with just a blink of Bucky’s eye. 

 

The immediate change shocked him. Was this how Steve had managed to hide any evidence from when they first met? Bucky shook his head. Steve was already walking out of the alley. He needed to hide if he didn’t want Steve to see him.

 

Bucky looked around and found that he had nowhere to hide. His window of escape when Steve was making a phone call had already passed. The blond was surely going to catch him.

 

He bit his lower lip. He took a deep breath and thought,  _ Fuck it! _ Steve was going to catch him anyway, so he might as well be caught with grace.

 

He straightened himself as he watched Steve pass by the dumpster. Steve did not look surprised to see him there. In fact, the blond had a self-satisfied smile on his face as he gave Bucky a quick, appraising glance. But Steve did not stop walking out of the alley, and Bucky had no choice but to follow him.

 

Steve was waiting for Bucky at the mouth of the alley, just off the main road. The blond had his arms crossed in front of his chest as he studied the passing crowd. He did not react when Bucky nervously stood in front of him with a sheepish smile on his face.

 

When the blond finally turned and looked straight at Bucky, he saw Steve’s summer blue eyes turn dark and molten with desire.

 

“Steve…” Bucky called his name with every bit of desire and desperation that he felt. 

 

He was painfully hard and was out in public, but, at that very moment, he did not give a damn. All that mattered to him was the blond god who was looking at him as if he was going to be his next meal. And Bucky found that he did not mind getting eaten by Steve at all. In fact, he wanted to be ravaged right that instant.

 

“We should stop meeting like this,” Steve said in a low growl. He was predatory in every way. It made Bucky shiver, his cock impossibly growing even harder.

 

In an instant, Bucky’s back was against the wall with Steve’s hand on his chest, while the other one was firmly holding the back of his neck.

 

And, now, Steve was attacking his lips with the same ferocity, the same intensity as his fight earlier. Bucky welcomed the blond’s plundering tongue in his mouth, yearning for his heat and his passion.

 

Their bodies were now flushed against each other. He gasped when Steve grinded his lower body with Bucky’s and sucked at the pulse point on his neck, leaving a bruise there. Bucky closed his eyes as he moaned in pleasure, pressing his lower body to Steve, gaining delicious friction against the blond. He felt Steve’s hardness through the layers of their jeans and whimpered.

 

Everything was so intense one moment, and then it was gone.

 

Blucky’s eyes snapped open to find Steve a few feet away from him, looking at him with blown pupils. His breathing was controlled and relaxed but the redness of his kiss-swollen lips betrayed his calm demeanor.

 

“Steve…” Bucky said in a breathless whimper. He was gasping, trying to breathe more air after being nearly suffocated by Steve’s aggressive lips.

 

He wanted more. He wanted to drown in Steve’s kisses. He wanted to feel Steve’s heat against his body and to do more than grinding against each other. But he also wanted that to continue. He wanted to feel pleasure because of Steve, with Steve.

 

“Steve,” he called the blond’s name again when Steve did not speak and just stared at Bucky, studying him like a predator would examine his prey before eating.

 

Steve was as golden, strong, and dangerous as a lion, while Bucky felt like a weak-kneed antelope who was about to be eaten. But Bucky truly did not mind. So, he took a step towards the blond, extending an arm out to the other man.

 

The blond’s eyes went to Bucky’s outstretched hand and then to Bucky’s face. Bucky took another step forward. Steve did not move away. The blond seemed satisfied at what he saw in Bucky’s blue-grey eyes. He met Bucky halfway, wrapping him in strong, muscled arms.

 

Bucky sighed as Steve kissed him again. But, this time, the kiss was more gentle but deeper and more soul-affirming than the last one. Bucky held onto the lapels of Steve’s pea coat, clutching it tightly, possessively, and pulling it closer to his own body.

 

They kissed for what seemed like forever but was only a short while in reality.

 

“I just couldn’t wait,” Bucky said as their lips separated and the tips of their noses touched. They were breathing the same air, not moving away from the other.

 

He did not give himself any excuse. He felt like he could tell Steve anything. He felt like he could open his chest and show his heart to Steve and still feel safe in the blond’s presence.

 

“I’ll discipline you later,” Steve said before kissing him again.

 

Bucky surrendered to Steve’s kisses, feeling himself melt against the blond’s strong body. His knees grew weak but the arms that was wrapped around him supported him from collapsing.

 

Their kiss was broken when they both heard the sound of Bucky’s phone. Bucky was still coming out of a pleasant haze when he realized who was calling.

 

_ Oh shit! _

 

He did not separate from Steve, but he lowered a hand to his coat jeans back pocket, taking out his phone. He grimaced as he confirmed that it was indeed Nat who was calling him.

 

Bucky felt the loss of Steve’s heat when the blond finally released him and stepped away. He stared longingly at the blond’s red and swollen lips and could feel his own lips tingling. He glanced down at his phone’s screen and then glanced up at Steve’s face once again.

 

“See you later, Bucky,” Steve said with a smile. It was the dangerous kind of smile that promised both danger and pleasure. Bucky bit back a moan, unable to stop himself from palming his crotch with his free hand.

 

The blond’s blue eyes followed Bucky’s actions like a hawk. There was a satisfied smirk on the blond’s face as he looked Bucky up and down and stopped at Bucky’s hand on his crotch.

 

“Stay out of trouble,” Steve said in a low, commanding voice that made Bucky more turned on. He moaned and squeezed his erection.

 

It took Bucky a while after Steve left before he could calm himself and answer Nat’s call. He hurriedly went back to meet her after she angrily scolded him over the phone. It was also clear in her voice that she had been worried. Thankfully, she did not call the police to search for him yet.

 

He tried to apologize when he met Nat in front of a coffee shop. She only realized that he had left after she finished paying for the clothes. It took her a while because an older customer was holding up the line at the cash register. When she saw the abandoned shopping bags, she walked out of the store to try to look for him. Unable to find him, she gave him a call and waited for him in front of the nearest coffee shop.

 

Bucky could not believe that it only took that much time for him to follow Steve, watch him fight two guys, and then make out with him.

 

The realization that he had finally made out with Steve brought a wide and happy smile on Bucky’s face. He had a hard time showing an apologetic face to Nat for abandoning her and their shopping bags.

 

Nat raised an eyebrow at him, already suspicious of Bucky. But Bucky was a good actor. He managed to school his face and appeared contrite. He offered to buy Nat lunch at a restaurant of her choice just to make up for abandoning her.

 

“When we return to the hotel, you are going to spill whatever it is, Barnes,” the redhead said as their waiter left with their orders.

 

Bucky scowled at Nat. “I thought we went out so that you can make me feel better. So, why are you going to grill me later?” he asked.

 

Natasha wagged a finger in front of him. “You can’t fool me, James. I know that look on your face. And the love bite on your neck cannot lie.” She pointed at the bruise on the side of his neck.

 

He hastily covered it with him hand and scowled at Natasha some more. After several seconds of staring at each other, Bucky sighed and gave in.

 

“Fine. I’ll tell you. But later.”

 

“You better,” Nat said with a satisfied smirk.

 

Bucky groaned. He just couldn’t win when it came to his best friend.

 


	7. Brief Separation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky misses Steve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everyone! I don't really have a set schedule on posting and I write whenever I am free. I took a vacation and got busy with work so it took me a few days before I could post this chapter.
> 
> I'm about to end this story and move on to the next part of the series. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy it, and please let me know your thoughts. Comments and feedback are appreciated.

Steve smiled. The tip of his tongue darted out to lick the blood that spilled from the side of his lips. He moved his sword arm like a windmill to stretch out any kinks on his shoulder.

 

Blood dripped from the tip of his stiletto sword and into the ground. But only little drops dripped down due to gravity. Most of the blood stayed on the blade, as if the metal was absorbing the blood unto itself.

 

Red wisps of energy attacked Steve like multiple red tentacles in the air. The ends of the red energy turned sharp like blades as they converged in an arc towards him. 

 

At the other end of the red energy tentacles was a woman with long, wavy brown hair and green eyes that were lined with khol. She was lithe and enchanting in a dark and mysterious way. She waved her hands around as tendrils of red light came out of her constantly moving fingers. Her red leather jacket was torn at the sleeves with cuts, and her black dress was wet with blood. There was a cut on her right leg, just above the end of her knee-high boots. She had a dark expression on her face, her focus was entirely on Steve.

 

The best defense was aggressive offense. Steve did not want to wait until his opponent got tired. He wanted to finish the fight as fast as he can. Protracted battles against energy users can also be an advantage to him in the long run, but he just didn’t want to play around.

 

He used his legs to propel himself forward, dodging the blade-like ends of the red energy tentacles. He swung his sword in a wide arc, cutting the red energy tentacles that were closing in on him like a cage.

 

The red energy tentacles were constricting fast but he moved even faster, heading towards the woman like a battering ram. He slashed his sword back and forth to counter the red energy tentacles and flicked his left wrist, releasing his poisoned daggers towards the woman.

 

The red energy broke down and changed into a spear right in front of Steve, blocking the attack of the knives for the woman and piercing through the air and directly at him. He dodged, jumping to the side. He tried to grab the red energy energy that the woman used earlier in the fight, but he was unable to grasp it. He slashed at the red energy spear with his sword reinforced with qi and he was able to cut away a part of its tip.

 

The red energy spear turned sideways to follow him. He grinned, covered his feet with qi and jumped up on the red energy spear. The woman was surprised that Steve was able to use it as a surface to run directly towards her.

 

She collapsed the red energy’s shape once again and ran away while throwing cars and other large objects at him using her red energy. The junk yard was really a bothersome site when it came to fighting energy users like his current opponent.

 

Steve grinned as he tasted the blood in his mouth. He was nearly flattened by several cars when the woman surprised him with an attack earlier. He had been thinking of Bucky because it had been a while since he had last seen the actor. Although he knew that there was an enemy based on his tracker, the woman still managed to fool his senses using her powers.

 

Steve knew who the woman was. He had met her only once when he was out on training. Her name was Wanda Maximoff, a Sokovian, who represented one of the rulers of Western Europe.

 

He had met her along with her twin brother before. Based on intelligence, Wanda’s brother was recruited to represent another Western European ruler but declined on the grounds that he did not want to fight his sister. 

 

The twins were many years younger than Steve. They were barely in their twenties. They were recruited when they first showed natural powers that attracted the Underworld when they hit puberty. The Queen also wanted them in her service but Christopher Smith got to them first.

 

Using a large part of his qi, Steve powered his legs and chased after Wanda. He threw several daggers at her while she pelted him with old cars and junk. He weaved through the large projectiles while throwing more daggers at her. 

 

The woman gasped when a knife buried itself on her left thigh. She staggered but continued to run. 

 

He moved even faster and was in front of her in an instant. He put the blade of his sword on her shoulder and through her dark hair, just a few millimeters from her neck. Wanda stopped and looked at him with wide, fearful but unyielding eyes. She was breathing hard, and it was evident that she had used a considerable amount of her power.

 

Steve paused as well, but his breath was even. Her red energy had creeped up to his sword arm, tightening around it like a vice and trying to rip it off of his shoulder. Steve smiled when he pressed the tip of his poisoned dagger on her stomach. He had pressed hard enough that she winced as it drew blood and injected her with a paralyzing agent.

 

“It’s nice to see you, too, Wanda,” Steve said with a pleasant smile as the red energy’s rug on his sword arm weakened. 

 

Not that he worried much about it since he let it happen on purpose. He could eviscerate her as fast as she can dislocate or rip off his arm. He would still have the advantage afterwards.

 

The brunette grimaced, and then sighed in resignation. But the tips of her lips twitched in an aborted smile.

 

“Steve, always the polite bastard,” she said in heavily-accented English.

 

Everything went easier afterwards. They released each other and Wanda did not try to bash him with cars or skewer him with her red energy anymore. She deactivated her beacon and they both went to the nearest bistro to enjoy an after-right meal. They did not bother with cleaning themselves up and didn’t give a fuck when some people stared at them along the way. Wanda used her powers to block any unwanted attention while they talked. It was actually pretty nice catching up with the kid.

 

There were only a few days left until the competition ended. Steve and Wanda exchanged information on the people that they had already eliminated. 

 

Wanda seemed unperturbed about losing to Steve. She even let him know that she had nothing to worry about because they were both in the upper half of the rankings. But she raised her brow at him when he told her that he wanted to win.

 

“We both know that there is more to this that just the rankings,” Wanda said as she drank her chamomile tea.

 

Steve looked at her and saw that she knew more about the world despite her young age. He did not say anything to contradict her and just drank his coffee.

 

He knew that Wanda had supernatural powers. It was in her file that she would occasionally gleam future events based on the data that she could gather especially from reading unsuspecting people’s minds. But there were also very rare instances where she could truly foresee the future. But whatever she saw, only she would know. 

 

“The next war is not just going to be about who has the biggest domain or how many players will participate. Change is coming, Steve. Even the cause of war may change,” she continued. Her tone was grave but her expression was unreadable. Only the sincerity in her green eyes told Steve that she truly believed what she saw about the future.

 

“If I see a situation pointing south, I won’t just be standing back. Of course, as long as Her Majesty allows it,” Steve said after putting down his cup.

 

“We are not enemies. So, I won’t thank you for not killing me. But I will tell you this. When the war begins, protect your heart before it becomes your weakness.” And with that, Wanda left.

 

Steve stared at her empty seat for a while, mulling over her words of warning. He sipped the last of his coffee and left money on the table. He left the bistro and disappeared into the crowd.

 

++++++++++

 

Bucky stared at the ceiling of his hotel room. He just finished taking a shower after returning from filming. He was not in the mood for dinner at the moment. He was so busy with thinking about Steve—or not seeing Steve that it made him lose his appetite entirely.

 

He sighed. He felt so helpless. He had no means of contacting Steve because he was not able to get the blond’s number. He chewed his inner lip while he thought about the last time that he had seen Steve.

 

When Steve said ‘See you later’, did that mean that he was going to see Bucky much, much later? It had already been two days since he last saw the blond, and he was beginning to worry about the blond’s well-being.

 

Bucky sighed again. He just could not help it. The last time he saw Steve, he was fighting with two superhuman guys. Although Steve came out the victor in that one-versus-two fight, Bucky still worried that something might have happened to Steve, and that was why the blond had not come to see him.

 

After seeing Steve practically every day since the elevator incident, he admitted to himself that he missed the guy. 

 

Bucky sighed again. It just wasn’t fair that he could not go to meet Steve whenever he wanted when the blond could easily pop up in his vicinity at any moment.

 

“Steve,” he whispered into the air, silently begging the wind the pick it up and deliver his voice to the blond. “Steve…” he called once more.

 

Bucky nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a hand on his leg. He sat up on the bed like a released spring and stared at the other person with wide eyes. He was panting out of sheer surprise and fear. But his expression turned into delight and a wide smile was on his lips after confirming who it was.

 

“Steve.” His wide grin nearly split his face. Steve smiled back, showing his perfectly white teeth.

 

Bucky scanned Steve’s body and saw that his hair was straight-from-the-shower wet and was combed back only using his fingers. He looked hot with his tight white t-shirt that was in danger of being ripped apart with just a few movements. Bucky gulped when he saw the blond’s muscles rippling through his almost transparent white shirt. He was wearing dark jeans and his black boots as well, but Bucky was too focused on Steve’s chest to care about other details.

 

“Steve,” he said in an almost squeak and swallowed hard. He felt himself harden with just the smoldering look that the blond was giving him.

 

Steve squeezed his leg and proceeded to climb on top of the bed and over him. The blond straddled his legs, pressing their hips together. They both groaned at the contact. Bucky wished that there were no layers of clothing blocking them right now.

 

One of Steve’s hand held him on the back of his neck while the other cupped the side of his face. He lowered his upper body until their lips were a thread apart.

 

“Hi,” Steve said in his low, sexy voice against his lips before kissing him with abandon.

 

Bucky wrapped his arms around Steve’s narrow but muscular waist, pulling him down and closer to his body. He relished and rejoiced the warmth and hardness that was Steve.

 

When their lips parted and they were breathing each other’s air, Bucky smiled and said, “Hi.”

  
  
  
  



	8. Relationship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky and Steve finally talk about their relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments are appreciated. Please help me improve my writing. hehehehe.

Bucky was breathless after countless kisses. He felt his sanity leaving his grasp as Steve’s lips and tongue conquered his own, searing his name on Bucky’s being to declare ownership.

 

He stared into Steve’s warm, blue eyes and saw the all-consuming want there. He felt like he was about to be burned to ashes by the other man’s stare.

 

A split-second moment of clarity made Bucky inhale sharply. He held onto Steve’s waist tighter as the blond sucked a bruise on the side of his neck.

 

“Steve... “

 

The blond trailed kisses along his jawline and covered his kiss-swollen lips once more. Bucky could not help but respond, although the haze of lust and reason was fighting inside of his mind.

 

“Steve. Steve, listen,” Bucky said when he felt Steve’s hands wander to the lower part of his body. Bucky’s hands went up to cup the blond’s face to create distance between their faces.

 

The blond’s brows were furrowed, looking worried as his blue eyes studied Bucky’s face. His lips were red and glistening from too much kissing.

 

“Something wrong?” Steve asked.

 

“I…” Bucky exhaled slowly, trying to calm his wildly beating heart to no avail. “Before we do this, whatever this is, I just want you to know that I… I don’t do casual relationships. So if you...” The words died in his throat, unable to continue. Realizing the meaning and the weight of the words he just said.

 

The second the words left Bucky’s lips, he regretted saying them. He gulped down the sudden nervousness that overcame him. He just realized that Steve may not want something serious between them. Maybe the blond only came after Bucky because he thought he was the type of actor in Hollywood who changed partners like changing clothes.

 

What if the blond decided that Bucky was not worth all the trouble? What if he was just looking for something casual and trouble-free? What if he decided to leave right now? What would Bucky do? What can he do? Will Steve even allow his to explain? But what if Steve was also the same as Bucky? What if…

 

He could not help but overthink things in his mind. With just a span of a few days, Steve had managed to burrow into Bucky’s thoughts, into Bucky’s heart. It was too late for him to stop whatever it was that he was feeling for the blond. But he feared that he would be left behind like his previous partners had done because they thought he was too troublesome, too much for them to handle.

 

He bit his lower lip and held his breath while waiting for the blond’s answer.

 

Steve was silent for a while, just looking at Bucky with his piercing blue eyes. The warmth and desire in those blue orbs never left as he stared directly into Bucky’s blue-grey ones. Steve’s right hand pressed lightly on top of Bucky’s chest, right where his rapidly beating heart was.

 

The blond’s expression softened. He kissed Bucky’s forehead, the tip of his nose, and then his lips.

 

“You’ve gotten a glimpse of what I am, of what I can do. Now, I’m going to return the question right back at you. If we do this, you may need to give up a lot of things. Hell, you may need to give up everything. Are you ready for that? Tell me, Bucky. Whatever this is between us, are you prepared for your life to change?”

 

“What do you mean? What will this change?”

 

“We live in different worlds, Buck. I don’t belong in your world. There will be no us without sacrifices. And I can’t be the one to leave my world for yours. If you want this, if you want _us_ , then it would be you who needs to adjust. There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me, a lot of things we don’t know about each other. This is going faster than I could even anticipate. I want you, Bucky. But I won’t force you. It’s gotta be you. You need to decide whether or not you want this between us. I need to know now before it’s too late.”

 

Steve’s expression went from soft to beseeching. His other hand was on the side of Bucky’s neck, his thumb caressing Bucky’s jaw line. His blue eyes became hooded, and Bucky could see the shadow that clouded the blue of Steve’s summer sky eyes.

 

Steve’s words only brought more questions in Bucky’s head. He was suddenly confronted by the possibility of having a relationship with Steve but at the cost of possibly many but unspecified things. It was hard to make a decision. He had the feeling that whatever he said now, one way or another, would impact his life greatly.

 

A blanket of silence enveloped the room. Only the sound of their quiet breathing could he heard while they stared into each other’s eyes.

 

Bucky was surprised at Steve’s words. Steve had thrown the ball to his court, leaving the decision of how their relationship went up to him.

 

It was difficult for Bucky to think right at that moment. On one hand, he had to weigh the meaning of Steve’s words, trying to read the things that he did not say. On the other, he could feel the ever-pressing, all-consuming need for the blond within him. He wanted Steve. He wanted and he wanted. His desire for the blond was almost making it hard for him to breathe.

 

And when he was faced with the possibility of not being with Steve anymore, Bucky felt a pain in his chest that turned into a gaping hole. Even now, as he was looking into Steve’s blue eyes, he felt his chest ache at the sadness and loneliness that tried to hide behind the blond’s long lashes.

 

As the seconds went by, Steve’s eyes grew more hooded, guarded, as if readying himself for something that could hurt him. As if whatever Bucky would say could hurt him. But there was also a steely quality in the way Steve’s jaw was set. His whole demeanor changed into a taut bow, ready to release the arrow to defend himself at any moment.

 

Bucky wondered what had caused Steve to act this way. He wondered about Steve’s past, of the things that made him the man that he was now. His eyes roamed Steve’s face, the resolute set of his eyebrows and the way his expression had begun to close off.

 

He thought about his own life and the things Steve may require him to give up. What things would he be giving up? Could he even do that? Could he give up everything for the sake of this man? Could he entrust himself to a man who had let Bucky see a vulnerable side of him? He knew, even without evidence, that Steve rarely showed this side of him to anyone else. And that left Bucky feeling exalted because Steve had given him a precious gift.

 

Steve slowly moved his body away from Bucky, but before he could move any further, Bucky surged up and claimed the blond’s lips in a crushing kiss. He felt Steve stiffen at the initial contact, but Bucky was persistent, fisting the front of Steve’s shirt with both hands, pulling the blond flush against him. The blond eventually melted against his lips, his mouth opening and their tongues met in a desperate and hungry dance.

 

Bucky managed to flip their positions on the bed. His legs were now in between Steve’s open ones. He grinded his hips against Steve’s and they both moaned into each other’s mouths. He nibbled at the blond’s plump lower lip, relishing the friction brought by their joined hips.

 

He laid his forehead on top of the blond’s, both of them catching their breaths. “I’m still here, aren’t I?” He gave the blond a quick peck on the lips. “Have I ever run away from you, Steve? I specifically remember that it’s you who keeps leaving me behind.”

 

Steve opened his mouth. His expression told Bucky that he was ready to protest, but Bucky covered his lips with another kiss to silence him. He rolled his hips in a leisurely manner that still managed to elicit moans from both of them.

 

“What do I need to do for you, Steve? Shall I be your kept man? Shall I wait on you and serve your every needs? Shall I warm your bed, naked and ready, and wait for you to conquer me like a god? Will you claim me and mark me as your property? What do you want from me, Steve? Tell me?” Bucky lowered his voice in a sultry whisper.

 

Steve’s eyes were more black than blue now, full of lust and desire. Bucky heard the blond growl. Steve’s body vibrated as if he was a predator who was about to spring on his prey. In a beat, Steve was ravishing his lips, while the blond’s hands moved to divest the brunet of his clothes.

 

Bucky returned Steve’s passion in kind. His hands also moved to remove Steve’s clothes. Their lips never leaving each other’s, breathing each other’s breaths, and swallowing each other’s moans.

 

In a short while, both of them were naked on the bed. Steve had flipped them over. And they were now flushed against each other, skin to skin, chest to toes. Steve’s body was glorious. His skin was milky white while this body was chiseled to perfection. There was no fat in the blond’s body. He was made of pure muscle like a sculpted piece of perfection.

 

_Holy fuck!_

 

Bucky’s breath hitched as he stared at Steve’s chest. The blond’s pecs were so amazing that he could almost call them tits. He gave in and laid both hands on top of Steve’s pecs, lightly squeezing them, feeling the wonderful hardness beneath his palms. The blond released a shuddering sigh as Bucky found one of Steve’s nipples and gave it an experimental pinch.

 

“Are you sure, Buck? This is your last chance. No take backs later. I won’t let you. No matter what happens later, I will never let you go. So you better run now if you don’t want your life to change,” Steve said in a breathless voice. But one of his hands cradled the back of Bucky’s neck and the other possessively cupped the side of the actor’s face. He looked wrecked from all the kissing. His hair was pointing in different directions but still managed to look hot. His body was flushed red and Bucky could feel Steve’s hardness against his own.

 

“Too late. You can’t get rid of me now. If I can, I’d tie you up and have my way with you all day, everyday. You’re mine now, Steve,” Bucky said.

 

He lifted his head and bit Steve’s shoulder. He did not let go until he tasted blood. Steve moaned in pleasurepain that he could almost feel in his very bones. The blond’s hand on the back of his neck moved up and clutched at his long, dark hair. But the blond did not pull him away. Steve even pressed Bucky’s head closer to his own body. Bucky licked the wound using kitten licks, feeling more aroused as he tasted the iron in Steve’s blood.

 

He felt his body grow hotter. It was as if there was something in the blond’s blood that invigorated him and stoked his desire for the other man even more. Beyond the taste of iron, was the inexplicable taste of _wantneedlove_ . He moaned as he bit at the wound a second time. This time, he tasted the headiness of _powermadnessdestruction_ , but that only drove him to suck greedily at the bite wound until the blood stopped flowing and a dark bruise bloomed on top of the bite marks.

 

He felt more connected to Steve. He felt bound to him, body and soul. His heart was suddenly beating in his ears, and, almost like Steve’s heart was his own, he could hear a second heartbeat within his own chest.

 

“Bucky…” Steve moaned his name. Holding the brunet tighter against him, as if trying to meld their bodies together.

 

In answer, Bucky kissed Steve on the mouth, sharing the drug-like taste of the blond’s own blood. Steve growled low on his throat, and Bucky felt his whole body shiver in anticipation and lust.

 

When their lips parted, it was only then that Bucky noticed the red glow in the edges of Steve’s eyes. It was gone when Bucky blinked. He opened his mouth to mention it to Steve, but the blond chased after his lips and gave him an almost punishing kiss, making Bucky forget about Steve’s eyes altogether.

 

Bucky felt like he had been submerged in molten lava, but he was not burning. No, he was feeling invigorated by the sudden fire that was coursing through his blood. Steve’s hands wandered across his body, the blond’s lips kissing every inch of his skin. Steve paused when his lips was right in front of Bucky’s heart.

 

“You swore a blood oath, Buck. Now there’s no turning back. Now you’re truly mine,” Steve whispered against Bucky’s heart and kissed him there.

 

Steve looked up to Bucky, and the actor’s breath was blown away when he saw the happiness in Steve’s blue eyes. His eyes twinkled with glee. There was a wide smile on his lips like a giddy boy on Christmas morning while opening presents.

 

“I love you.”

 

The words left Bucky’s mouth without his own brain’s permission. But he did not regret saying those three words when what he got in return was a Steve who seemed to glow even brighter than the sun and a smile that could almost split his face. Right now, Steve did not look like a badass, deadly god of war. He looked more like a man who had just found an oasis after walking for an eternity in the desert.

 

And it made Bucky’s heart melt. He smiled back at Steve and said the words again. “I love you, Steve.”

 

Falling in love with the blond stranger that he just met several days ago in a hotel elevator may have been the strangest and craziest thing Bucky had ever done in his life. Anyone he knew would tell him that it was too soon and that he still did not know Steve. Nat would probably skin him alive for this, but he did not really care. He found that he did not regret meeting Steve and all the things that he had experienced along the way. He realized that his heart had become static all these years but had now started beating again after he met Steve.

 

Falling as hard as he did for Steve was too soon. But he felt that the blond already took away his heart at the very first moment that they met.

 

“I love you, too, Buck,” Steve said as he moved up until the tips of their noses met.

 

Bucky sighed as he felt an overwhelming sense of relief at hearing the words back from Steve’s own lips. He did not even realize that he was holding his breath while waiting for the blond’s reply. His smile grew wider.

 

They shared a kiss so sweet and so full of love that it nearly brought tears to Bucky’s eyes. When Bucky stared into Steve’s eyes again, he saw Steve’s eyes glisten with unshed tears. They shared another sweet and slow kiss.

 

Bucky thanked the powers that be that he could have this moment right now, that he could have Steve. He held the blond closer and wished that this moment could last forever.

 

++++++++++

 

_“The common world is the world of mortals, Steve. If possible, immortals do not mingle with mortals. We do not interfere with the mortals. As long as the dues are paid, the rulers leave the mortals to their own devices.” the Queen said as she looked down on the glittering night lights of New York City from the floating estate’s south tower. From the distance, the night lights of New York looked like a lesser version of the stars in the night sky._

 

_Her long white robe flowed elegantly, fitting her lithe form like second skin. She looked back at Steve, who was standing a little way behind her._

 

_Steve thought of the friends that he left behind back in New York. What would they think of him now that he had grown in body, strength, and power?_

 

_“What about those who fall in love? Your Majesty, you told me before that emotions hold power. So what if an immortal falls in love with a mortal? What then?” he asked._

 

_A somber expression flitted across the Queen’s face but immediately disappeared with an understanding smile at Steve. Her emerald green eyes seemed to pierce through his heart and soul, reading him like an open book._

 

_“A union of an immortal with a mortal is generally frowned upon. I do not advise it. I do not wish the pain of loving someone who has a short life to any of my people.”_

 

_“But it’s not forbidden?”_

 

_The Queen shook her head. “I do not forbid it, Steve. But I do not wish such a fate to fall upon my people.”_

 

_“Can’t they just make the other person cultivate? Won’t that be a solution?”_

 

_“Mortals are mortals because they cannot cultivate. Only the chosen ones can be granted the gift of cultivation. Although…”_

 

Steve’s thoughts were interrupted when Bucky pressed a kiss to his chest as he woke up. Bucky was half draped on top of him, using his chest as a pillow. He kissed the brunet’s hair and repeatedly ran a soothing hand against his naked back.

 

“Good morning,” Bucky murmured against his skin.

 

“‘Morning, love,” Steve whispered at the top of Bucky’s head.

 

The end of the competition was near, and Steve had one more reason to win.

  



	9. Morning After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after, Bucky learns about Steve's identity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are now heading towards Xianxia territory, my friends.
> 
> For those who are not familiar with the genre, it is about immortal heroes (from Chinese fiction like I Shall Seal the Heavens, Coiling Dragon, Doulo Dalu, Transcending the Nine Heavens, etc.). (I love reading Xianxia novels!)
> 
> Comments are appreciated! Let me know if you have something that can help me improve my writing! ^_^

Bucky was starfished on top of the bed while he stared hard at the ceiling. He really tried not to look, but he felt like a force was attracting him to one corner of the hotel room.

 

He chewed on his lower lip and sighed. He was already fighting a losing battle that he had no desire to fight. But Steve told Bucky not to disturb him. Staring at the gorgeous blond didn’t count right?

 

He turned to the side and looked at Steve. The blond was sitting cross-legged on the floor, his hands laid palm up on top of his knees. He was only wearing black boxer shorts, giving Bucky an excellent view of the blond’s perfectly sculpted physique. A fine layer of sweat covered the blond while he continued to meditate with closed eyes. Bucky gulped as his eyes roamed around the blond’s body.

 

The space around Steve was hazy, as if an invisible mist covered him. The air inside the hotel room was charged. Bucky could almost feel, could almost see a strong energy coalesce with Steve in the center.

 

Bucky held his breath as he continued to stare at Steve. The blond had told him to continue sleeping and to not mind him. It was Steve’s pleasantly-worded way of telling him not to leave him alone. Despite the general strangeness of Steve’s actions, Bucky still appreciated the fact that the blond had let him observe the blond’s meditation.

 

He had seen people meditate before, both in person and in movies or television. He had also tried a bit of meditation himself. But it was the first time that he had seen someone meditate like Steve did. It was as if the blond could influence his surroundings, could make the energy of the Earth manifest just by sitting down and closing his eyes. It looked to Bucky as if Steve was absorbing the energy that gathered around him. The faint, almost invisible mist swirling around the blond in quiet agreement.

 

He released a breath that he held for a long time. Slowly, he closed his eyes and attempted to sense even just a bit of the energy that Steve was absorbing. But despite the fact that he was concentrating really hard, he felt nothing change within him. He sighed again, opening his eyes and continued staring at Steve.

 

He thought back on the things that Steve said last night. Of what this relationship could possibly mean to both of them, what it could mean to him. If he was forced to give up everything in his life, did that also mean that he needed to stop being an actor?

 

He bit his lower lip. He wrapped his arms around his waist, hugging himself.

 

Acting was something that he had come to love. He enjoyed playing different roles from different walks of life. At first, he wanted to be an astronaut. He loved the space and the infinite universe outside the Earth but was stumped with all the Math required for such a job. Acting only came to him as an accident. It was during his high school years when his friend from the Theater Club needed an emergency substitute. He was the only one available while he was helping them with the props. One thing led to another, and here he was now, filming high-budget films.

 

Would he also need to give up being Captain America? Bucky felt a pang of regret at that thought. After playing the role for several years now, he had come to love the man with the shield. The character represented the traits that he wanted to have for himself, an ideal that he hoped he could achieve because Cap was such a good guy.

 

He decided that he really needed to clear things up with Steve. He needed to know what he was in for when in came to their budding relationship.

 

He also thought of what Steve said about them living in different worlds, of Bucky being the one to leave his own. What did that mean? He buried his face into the pillow, biting back a sigh.

 

Things had already been strange enough as of late. Recalling the moments he had spent in Steve’s presence, Bucky felt more and more that Steve indeed existed in a different world. Steve was very strong. He found strong people. He carried hidden weapons that no one else seemed to notice, even Bucky could not see where he hid them under his clothes. He got involved in a public fight but no one had mentioned Steve or other super-powered people in the news. And now, Steve was quietly meditating on one corner of his hotel room in the most mystical yet simple way Bucky had ever seen. Everything was just so strange.

 

He shook his head when doubts started to pop up in his head. He didn’t want to second guess his decision. In a way, letting go of things had its advantages and disadvantages. But he needed to wait for Steve until he knew for sure what those things were.

 

Bucky opened his eyes and stared at Steve again. The blond had not moved for a long time. He glanced at the bedside clock and groaned. He was thankful that he only needed to come in for filming before lunchtime. He still had at least two hours before he absolutely needed to leave for work. He was really reluctant to leave Steve behind, but he also knew that Steve had his own business to take care of.

 

He stood up from the bed when he could no longer ignore his bladder. He went to the bathroom as quietly as he could. But it seemed that Steve was so in the zone that he did not twitch from his meditating position at all.

 

With a sigh of relief, Bucky used the facilities in the bathroom, brushing his teeth and taking a quick shower. He cleaned his body, especially paying attention to the bites and bruises that Steve had peppered all over his body last night. He sighed as he remembered how intense both of their emotions were last night. Something happened last night that he could not explain clearly.

 

Everything felt so heightened. His body felt on fire that it drove him to the brink even with just a few strokes of Steve’s hand on his cock. They were both so turned on after the bloody kiss that all they could manage was a mutually pleasant hand job. Bucky wanted to do more, but he had been so drained that he immediately fell asleep right after Steve had cleaned them both up and covered their bodies with a blanket. Steve had held him close, wrapping Bucky with his strong arms, as Bucky slept with his ear against the steady beating of Steve’s heart. When he woke up, he wanted to continue where they left off from the night before, but Steve left the bed as soon as Bucky woke up and proceeded to do his meditation.

 

He exited the bathroom with only a white towel around his waist while he used another one to dry his hair. He was surprised when he was immediately accosted by all six-feet-two of muscle. Bucky slammed into the nearest wall with Steve’s lips on his in a heated kiss. The blond’s hands held his hips firmly, their bodies pressed against each other. He did not even mind that Steve was sweaty. He didn’t move during his meditation but he still managed a sweat like he just went exercising. Bucky gripped Steve’s arms, squeezing them to feel the hard muscle underneath his palms.

 

He moaned against Steve’s lips as the blond’s thumbs pressed soothing circles at the skin just above the towel around his waist.

 

When they broke the kiss and Bucky smiled at the blond.

 

“Breakfast, then I need to leave for a while,” Steve said.

 

The smile died on Bucky’s lips. He stared at Steve and the blond gave him an apologetic but resolute look.

 

He groaned in protest but did not say the complaints that wanted to come out of his lips. He buried his face in the crook of Steve’s neck and kissed him there. He inhaled Steve’s scent. The blond smelled and tasted of sweat and of a distinct smell of blood and fire and danger that was just so Steve that it made Bucky shiver. He groaned in protest when the blond let him go in favor of heading to the bathroom.

 

“Order some breakfast while I shower, babe. I’ll be quick,” Steve said.

 

“Can I join you?” Bucky didn’t mind having a second shower as long as it’s with Steve.

 

The blond shook his head but had a knowing smile on his lips. “That would defeat the purpose of a quick shower.”

 

Bucky pouted but that only made Steve chuckle as he went into the shower, not even bothering to close the bathroom door. Bucky sighed as he got dressed in a dark grey t-shirt under a blue and white button down with a pair of dark jeans. He did not bother wearing socks or shoes just yet.

 

He went for the hotel’s phone and ordered food for the two of them. He did not know what Steve liked to eat so he just ordered pretty much every breakfast food on the menu and then some desserts.

 

He looked around the room and saw Steve’s clothes that were neatly folded on top of a chair on one side of the room. On the floor beside the chair was Steve’s black boots. His navy blue pea coat hung on the back of the chair.

 

For the first time, he noticed a black back holster on top of the coffee table beside the chair where Steve’s clothes were. He walked towards it and studied the holster.

 

There was only a single sheath on the holster, but he was surprised to find that it was empty. He wondered where Steve’s sword went because he fully expected for the stiletto sword to be there. Although, looking closely at the holster, it seemed too wide to hold such a thin sword. He touched the holster and felt the low thrum of energy from the it.

 

The holster was made of quality leather and was adorned with an embossed sigil of a tree that had roots as vast as its own branches. The ground was marked with how shallow the embossing was on the one half and how deep it was on the other. Looking at it, the symbol could be the flipped and he would still see the same symbol of a leafless tree that had branches that could almost reach the sky and that was deeply rooted to the ground. Both the branches and the roots reached the edge of the embossing that was marked by a thin circle. It was an interesting sigil that gave Bucky a sense of being at the presence of something mystical and wondrous but also completely esoteric and powerful.

 

His fingers traced the lines in the sigil, lost in thought as he unconsciously stared at it for an indeterminable amount of time.

 

“It’s the Tree of Life and Death. The Queen’s sigil.”

 

Bucky nearly jumped when he was pulled out of his thoughts by Steve’s voice. He turned to look at the blond and nearly got the breath knocked away from him after seeing the blond with wet hair and only a white towel loosely wrapped around his waist. It was in danger of falling off any time, but Steve did not seem to care as he stalked towards Bucky.

 

He gaped at Steve as the blond reached out to hold Bucky’s hand that was just on top of the leather holster. Steve had a proud smile on his lips and he looked at the sigil. Bucky could not help but follow the blond’s line of sight when the blond guided his fingers to trace the tree once again.

 

“The Queen herself gifted me this thing. And it had been a useful companion in the years I spent under her service.”

 

Steve’s voice held a reverent and loving tone that almost made Bucky jealous. But he tamped it down because he also heard respect and veneration in Steve’s voice. Whoever the Queen was, she was surely someone very important to Steve. He resolved to meet and get to know her if Steve would let him.

 

The blond had a faraway look in his eyes as he looked down on the tree. Bucky did not dare disturb Steve’s thoughts. He waited patiently and relished the feel of Steve’s hand that was holding his.

 

After a beat, Steve turned to look at him and smiled. His summer blue eyes sparkled as he looked at Bucky. “Her Majesty likes your movies. I think that’s already an advantage on your part.” He leaned forward and gave Bucky a quick kiss on the cheek. “She’ll be happy to meet you.”

 

Bucky suddenly felt nervous at the thought of meeting Steve’s queen. He thought of the royalty who currently lived in the world and tried to guess who it was that the blond was talking about. But Steve spoke perfect American English. Bucky could even hear a hint of Brooklyn from the blond, an accent that Bucky only used when he was back at home with his family.

 

Steve guided him to sit on the empty chair on the opposite side of the coffee table. “Just let me get dressed.”

 

Bucky’s eyes went wide when he saw Steve touch the black holster on the table and, out of thin air, clothes appeared on top of the table beside the holster. He gaped, speechless and surprised, as he watched Steve get dressed in a fresh pair of black boxer shorts, plain white t-shirt, and black pair of jeans that hugged his ass and thighs in a very flattering way. He wore a pair of black socks and his boots. With a wave of a hand, the used clothes that were on top of the chair’s seat disappeared.

 

“You… That… What the fuck?”

 

Steve looked at him with an amused smile, seemingly unbothered with Bucky’s reaction to the magically-appearing and disappearing clothes. He touched the black holster once again, not taking his eyes away from Bucky.

 

“This is a storage bag in the shape of a holster. You can consider this as a bag of holding. Isn’t that the term they use in Dungeons and Dragons?” Steve said.

 

Bucky continued to gape at Steve. The blond acted like everything was normal, like nothing strange or magical had just happened in front of them.

 

“You just… How did you do that?” Bucky finally asked. He waved an arm in the direction of the holster to emphasize his question.

 

Steve squared his arms in front of him and cocked his head to the side as he looked at Bucky. “Magic.”

 

“Magic?” Bucky parroted, his mind blank at Steve’s casual attitude.

 

“Well, the proper term is enchantment. You see, certain things can be enchanted to hold other items. The amount of items that an enchanted object can hold depends on the object’s quality and the level of enchantment that was applied to it. Have you read Harry Potter? The principle is the same as the Weasley’s tent. But any living thing can’t physically enter a storage bag, only Divine Sense can,” Steve explained. He was patient in his explanation, as if what he was saying was very common and was not straight out of a fantasy movie at all.

 

Steve was someone who used enchanted objects. He was also super strong and had badass fighting abilities. Steve was a badass fighter with an enchanted holster where he possibly keeps his hidden weapons.

 

“What are you?” Bucky could not help but ask.

 

Steve smiled at him. “I am a cultivator of the Immortal Path. I serve the Queen of North America.”

 

Path to Immortality? Queen of North America?

 

_What the fuck?_

 

“What the actual fuck?” he muttered under his breath.

 

He realized that he did not find such a possibility about Steve impossible. But it was still a surprising thing to just spring on him even before he had his morning coffee and breakfast.

 

Did that mean that Steve was a… That he was an immortal?

 

Bucky’s eyes almost bugged out. It was only the day after he and Steve discussed their relationship. But things had already taken such a strange turn.

 

“You’re an immortal? Is this what you meant when you said we lived in different worlds?” he asked.

 

Steve nodded. He had a serious expression on his face.

 


	10. Taking Care of Business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky and Steve have breakfast, and then Steve takes care of business.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the final chapter for this story. Thank you for reading!
> 
> Got delayed due to me reading Merthur and Stucky fics here in AO3. lol. Was a bit distracted. Sorrynotsorry. :P

An errant thought that any moment now, a camera crew would appear in his hotel room to announce that it was all an elaborate practical joke, that he was being filmed all along for a long prank. But the seconds passed by and it was only Steve and Bucky inside the hotel room.

 

He opened his mouth to speak but they both heard a knock on the door. It was Steve who opened the door for the hotel employee and even gave the guy a tip after leaving their breakfast cart inside the room.

 

Steve served the dishes on the coffee table in front of Bucky and sat on the opposite chair. There were an assortment of breakfast foods between them along with a fresh pot of coffee and a pitcher or orange juice. The blond looked positively delighted at seeing the food. He even exclaimed in delight after seeing slices of cheesecake and chocolate cake  as well as a large glass of sundae with berries on it. Bucky mentally patted himself on the back for ordering a lot.

 

The blond began to eat but Bucky was still staring at him from his seat.

 

“So let me get this straight,” Bucky began. Steve looked up at him from his plate of omelette and bacon. “You’re an immortal and you serve the Queen of North America? What does it mean? Do you live forever then? And who is the queen? Shouldn’t everyone know about her since she’s a Queen? I don’t think anyone’s been a royalty in North America as far as I know. It doesn’t really make sense to me. But is it weird that I believe you?”

 

Bucky was a jumble of questions right now. It seemed that the more Steve revealed about himself, the more questions followed in his wake.

 

Steve put down his fork and took a sip of his coffee before speaking. “Okay, I do need to explain a lot of things to you. And I mean, a LOT. I also want you to get to know me better, but I just don’t have the time for further explanations right now. I just need you to trust me and wait, Buck.” Steve reached out across the table and took hold of his hands. He gave the brunet a reassuring squeeze. “Can we just eat for now? I promise I’ll tell you everything that you want to know when I get back.” The blond’s eyes were pleading for Bucky to understand.

 

Bucky bit back the desire to insist for Steve to tell him everything right at that moment. The blond did say ‘when he got back’. I meant that he had every intention of coming back to Bucky to explain things. 

 

In the end, he sighed and gave a nod of assent to the blond. He smiled at the blond and said, “Are you going to take care of badass immortal business?”

 

Steve nodded with an amused smile on his face. His summer blue eyes twinkled as he looked straight at Bucky’s eyes.

 

“I’ll wait,” he said.

 

Steve gave him a bright and relieved smile, squeezed his hands one last time before resuming to wolf down his breakfast.

 

The actor also began to eat, feeling himself calming down from the initial barrage of questions in his mind about Steve’s identity. He understood Steve’s point of waiting for a better time when they could both talk. If the blond was busy, Bucky did not want to get in the way of Steve’s business.

 

They only shared small talk during breakfast, opting to focus more on finishing the food that Bucky ordered. When they were done eating, Bucky and Steve made out like horny teenagers before Bucky reluctantly let Steve go.

 

The brunet sighed as he looked at the closed door. He consoled himself with the thought Steve had promised to come back to him when his business was done.

 

+++++++++

 

Steve takes a deep breath as he entered Quicken Loans Arena. He had received an email from the Overseers informing him that the last remaining participants should gather in the arena for the final showdown.

 

He had already anticipated the event. The format of the competition had always been the same throughout the years. It was much easier and faster to end the competition and determine the winner rather than continue to chase after the last few people throughout Cleveland.

 

The participants were not informed of how many remained in the competition. But based on Peggy’s intel, there were most likely ten contenders left. It was now time to decide the final ranking as the competition’s ending dawned upon them.

 

When he arrived inside the Q, he saw a large, raised stone platform at the center where the basketball court was normally placed. The arena was a perfect square and around it shimmered the magical walls that will be used to shield any onlookers from stray attacks. It was already a guarantee that there will be an audience to the final matches based on the rows of comfortable seats that surrounded the stone platform.

 

He thought about who might come to watch him fight. Maybe Peggy and his friends from the Legion. He was not sure if the Queen herself would deign to watch the fights personally. He did not want to bother her and he knew that the fight would most definitely be broadcasted throughout the world. But he decided that it was much better to not feel pressure from the onlookers’ expectations of him or the enemies’ enmity towards him.

 

There was a large man with a shiny bald head in the middle of the platform. He had a distended belly that almost looked spherical under his dark red cotton gi. He had slits for eyes that almost seemed like he was sleeping while standing in the middle of the platform. His face was set in an unreadable expression.

 

The man was the main Overseer, while the rest of his companions were standing in strategic places around the platform and the arena and wearing the same dark red cotton gi uniform.

 

Despite the man being large and had a big, fat belly, Steve knew better than to underestimate the man. Appearances were deceiving when it came to immortal cultivators. He learned early on that not all old, frail-looking people were weak and that not all children or young-looking people were truly young. Steve maintained a respectful expression as he stood there waiting at one corner of the platform.

 

Steve was not the first or the last one to arrive at the platform. The rest of the participants filtered in one at a time. The audience also arrived individually or by groups. The most powerful members of the audience were given the front-row seats. The rest of the audience chose their seats according to their status in the Underworld.

 

There was a low buzz of conversation from the audience. The mounting expectation and excitement for the upcoming fights surrounded Steve and the rest of the participants. The head Overseer cleared his throat and silence immediately fell in the arena.

 

Steve stood straighter, ready for any action at any moment. He calmly surveyed his opponents, decidedly ignoring the audience and then focused on the bald man in the middle of the platform. He was going to give his everything to win the last few fights. He will not let his Queen down.

 

“The final stage of the Ranking Competition will now begin. All ten participants will draw a random number to determine who they will go up against in a one versus one battle. The fight will begin on my call.. A fighter wins when the opponent dies or surrenders. Any questions?” the bald Overseer said in a loud and clear voice. After a few seconds of silence, the Overseer said, “Participants, draw your numbers from the box.” He waived his hand and a black box appeared in front of him.

 

The box only had a hole on top of it. Steve and the others went in front of the box and drew their numbers. After their lots were drawn, the names of every competitor appeared in large, glowing, red letters in mid-air on one side of the platform. The match-ups for the one-on-one fights were decided and the only remaining participants on the platform were the first two fighters and the head Overseer. Steve was one of the first fighters but his expression still remained calm.

 

The black box had disappeared with another wave of the bald Overseer’s hand. He looked at the two fighters in front of him. He waved his hand again and a small golden gong appeared and floated beside him. “You can begin the fight on my cue.” The two fighters nodded in acknowledgement. The bald Overseer glided outside of the platform with the golden gong trailing behind him. Once he was in position, the Overseer sounded the gong. 

 

The sound that came from the small, golden gong was so loud that it almost deafened the people inside the Q. That was also the cue for the first fight to start.

 

Steve fought fast and hard. He was vicious against his enemy. He won after just a minute of exchanging blows against his opponent. 

 

The rest of his fights went in similar fashion. Steve struck fast while aiming for any possible opening or weak point that he could find. It was as if he was possessed with the urgency to end everything and finally bring the glory to his sovereign.

 

The cheers and the shouts of the audience covered the whole arena. Some of the participants died in combat but that only stoked the audience’s excitement more and more. The sight of blood on the platform also invigorated Steve. His moves becoming more vicious, more bloodthirsty with every fight.

 

It was finally the end of the last match. Steve stood in one part of the platform with his bloody stiletto sword in his right hand and the severed head of his final opponent in his left. The decapitated head was dripping blood on the neck, while the rest of his opponent’s body lay on Steve’s feet. His body was splashed in blood but he only felt more invigorated as he threw the head somewhere in the platform and raised both arms in celebration. The audience roared along with him.

 

The competition was finally done. He could now return to Her Majesty to bring her the glory. He also thought of Bucky, his Bucky who was waiting for his return. Soon, very soon he would take his handsome prey and make him a part of his world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is not the end. But since this story is practice writing for me, it may take a while or a few days before I can post a new story. I just thought of an AU for this AU lol but that can wait until later. Maybe I will write a short fic before continuing this, but nothing is set in stone yet. hahaha.
> 
> Let me know what you think of this story or the series in general. I didn't really go into details with the fights because I'm still working in my action writing.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, everyone! Thank you for reading this fic. This is the second story for the At First Sight series. Please let me know if you see any errors or typos.
> 
> The Marvel movies exist in this world, and Bucky is the actor who plays Captain America. You will meet more Marvel and original characters as we progress in the At First Sight 'verse.
> 
> I am a Xianxia fan, so you may see xianxia elements in the series.
> 
> Edit: So I just decided to turn this into a multi-chapter story. BUT I am still planning several of them for this 'verse. I'm still thinking of plot lines but writing for this fic is ongoing (because this exists as a practice to my rusty writing).


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